What’s in a name?
In the team’s more recent years, the Washington Redskins have been no stranger to controversy. According to Merriam-Webster, the term Redskin is over 300 years old and is an offensive moniker for an American Indian.
Historically speaking, the Redskins aren’t the first team to have a name that takes on racial undertones. The NFL also hosts the Kansas City Chiefs, whose logo is a big arrowhead.
Currently, Major League Baseball plays host to the Cleveland Indians and the Atlanta Braves, both of which have been under controversy regarding their logos and fan traditions.
The Indians changed their primary logo, which featured a large, smiling Native American head, to a big “C,” but the old logo is still being used on the uniform.
Fans of the Atlanta Braves gained notoriety for the infamous “tomahawk chop” where fans mimic the motion of swinging an Indian tomahawk.
The NBA does not have any current teams that might raise eyebrows with their names, but according to Basketball Reference, Wisconsin hosted the Sheboygan Red Skins for one season in 1949.
Steve Ruark / AP Photo: Robert Griffin, the face of the Washington Redskins franchise, has mostly stayed quiet about the Redskins name issue.
Apart from some squabbling over whether or not the Vancouver Canucks name is an ethnic slur, the National Hockey League is basically free of racial debate.
The Chicago Blackhawks’ main logo features a Native American chief, but isn’t doing so in a negative light. From 1974 to 1976, the Kansas City Scouts were an NHL team and their logo featured a Native American on a horse, but, like Chicago, isn’t done so in a negative way.
There are a handful of others, be it in the NCAA or soccer leagues, but the bulk of the controversy stems from the Washington Redskins in the NFL.
Now, what really makes things confusing, is the roots of the word “Redskin.”
An article from Slate.com read that while there are plenty of claims that “Redskin” is racist, it may not actually be so. According to the article, Indian Language scholar Ives Goddard learned that the term may not be as bad as we thought. Goddard said that “The actual origin of the word is entirely benign.”
Goddard learned that “Redskin” is not an English or European word. Rather, it is a word that derives from Native American roots, used to identify themselves among others races in the areas that they lived in.
Now, does this etymology and history transcend hundreds of years later to the name of an NFL team?
That’s where things get a little hazy.
The Redskins were established in 1932, when things were a little more lax in regards to political correctness.
Since then, the team and the league have defended the name as a “tribute” to Native Americans and their culture.
The Native Americans tend to disagree.
In a CNN article about this issue, Jason Begay, a Navajo professor at the University of Montana, stated his disbelief at this situation.
“Even in the last 50 years (of the civil rights movement), we learned so much,” Begay said. “It’s just ridiculous that this is an issue.”
Another interesting mix in this whole situation is a new policy regarding the use of the N-word on the field in the NFL.
According to the New York Daily News, officials in the NFL now will throw the flag and call a 15-yard penalty if they hear the use of the N-word during the course of a game. This appears to be the NFL dropping the hammer on ethnic slurs and ending racism in the league.
So…what about the Redskins?
This is hypocrisy at its finest from the league. Personally, the name doesn’t offend me, but I’m not a Native American.
From Native American’s standpoint, it’s a hard thing to challenge a 750-million-dollars net-worth NFL franchise.
But if the NFL is going to start enforcing racial issues, there is no way the organization can continue to ignore this issue and allow them to use the name.
Ray Waldron can be contacted at rwaldron@keene-equinox.com