In a world where Donald Sterling just completed a sale of the Los Angeles Clippers and receiving a lifetime ban from the NBA after his racist comments surfaced, there is still a team in the NFL that goes by the name of “Redskin.”
People from every aspect of the world have chimed in on this very sensitive subject – from former players to the President of the United States Barack Obama himself. Despite the wide range of responses, the jury is still out on the name change.
CBS analyst Phil Simms has even come out and said that he has considered not using the team’s nickname when calling its games.
Former NFL tight end Mike Ditka is very passionate about this topic. However, not in the way many would have hoped.
“This [the idea of changing the Redskins name] is so stupid, it’s appalling and I hope that the owner keeps the name and never changes it,” Ditka proclaimed while being interviewed by Mike Richman for RedskinsHistorian.com.
Ditka would go onto say, “It was said out of reverence, out of pride to the American Indian. Even though it was called a redskin, what are you going to call them? Proudskins?”
Whether Ditka knows it or not, just by inserting the words “even though,” he proves that even he has thought twice about the name.
Now racism in sports is nothing new as we all may know – from Jackie Robinson attempting to break down the color barrier in professional baseball to Sterling expressing his true feelings in a home audio taken without his consent. ESPN’s Colin Cowherd expresses his view on things.
“I’m sure you remember — do you realize people were offended by the ‘Tomahawk Chop’ 25 or 30 years ago? And the last time I saw an Atlanta Braves game, and the last time I saw a Florida State Seminoles football game, they’re still doing it! Where does it end? I don’t know. You tell me,” Cowherd admitted.
While many are still awaiting the ruling from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, President Barack Obama decided to weigh in on the topic.
“If I were the owner of the team and I knew that there was a name of my team—even if it had a storied history—that was offending a sizable group of people, I’d think about changing it.”
Several people are in favor of keeping the Redskins name. People the likes of Dan Snyder (current owner of the Washington Redskins), Joe Gibbs (former head coach of the Washington Redskins) and Joe Theismann (former quarterback of the Washington Redskins).
Likewise, there are several people who want the name to be changed. People like Barack Obama, Tony Dungy (former head coach of the Indianapolis Colts), and the United States Patent and Trademark office.
However, the most important response everyone is waiting to hear is one from the aforementioned NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Widely outspoken Seattle Seahawks’ cornerback Richard Sherman stated that if Donald Sterling owned an NFL team he would not have received a lifetime ban from the sport. When asked why he felt that way, Sherman simply replied, “Because we have a football team called the Redskins.”
Sherman went onto say “I don’t think the NFL really is as concerned as they show.” It’s hard to argue that statement when so little has been said or done regarding the situation.
