Washington Redskins - time to change the name ?

atatu

atatu

Legend
I'm a die hard 'Skiins fan, have been for 40 years. As a kid, I lived and died by the Joe Gibbs teams and loved the Hogs, Darrell Green, and Riggins. But even I have to admit that the time has come to change the name of the team. Anyone agree, or do you guys think it's just some PC rhetoric ?
 
Feña14

Feña14

G.O.A.T.
atatu said:
I'm a die hard 'Skiins fan, have been for 40 years. As a kid, I lived and died by the Joe Gibbs teams and loved the Hogs, Darrell Green, and Riggins. But even I have to admit that the time has come to change the name of the team. Anyone agree, or do you guys think it's just some PC rhetoric ?
Click to expand...

I've heard it being mentioned a bit, there does seem some merit to it all. As a fan, what names would you consider?
 
r2473

r2473

G.O.A.T.
I've always felt they should be called the "District of Columbia Redskins" and its about damn time they made this change.
 
Last edited:
snoopy

snoopy

Professional
Change it to the Washington Whiteskins. Put a picture of a pale, freckled English guy on the helmet. Problem solved.
 
G

GS

Professional
That D.C. city council member wants em to change their name to the Redtails. Redtail hawks are native to the D.C. area.
Hey, are there any cardinal birds in Arizona?
 
C

CCNM

Hall of Fame
I agree. Watching those Joe Gibbs-coached teams was great. I've always had mixed feelings about the team name-doesn't bother me but I can see where it would some others. Some folks will argue that the Vancouver Canucks should be changed as well (I've been told that some Canadians don't like that term). How about the Washington Pigskins?
 
N

NickC

Professional
Political-correctness is vastly overrated. Groups who are offended by certain words (with the exception of a certain word that you don't call a black person that starts with N) need to chill out and stop taking offense to every little thing. Consider it a tribute if an organization names itself after you.
 
Seth

Seth

Legend
NickC said:
Political-correctness is vastly overrated. Groups who are offended by certain words (with the exception of a certain word that you don't call a black person that starts with N) need to chill out and stop taking offense to every little thing. Consider it a tribute if an organization names itself after you.
Click to expand...

Exactly. Our society is far too coddled, resulting in hypersensitivity and people making a stink about nothing.
 
Disgruntled Worker

Disgruntled Worker

Professional
NickC said:
Political-correctness is vastly overrated. Groups who are offended by certain words (with the exception of a certain word that you don't call a black person that starts with N) need to chill out and stop taking offense to every little thing. Consider it a tribute if an organization names itself after you.
Click to expand...

That's bull. I should be proud that whites are parading around my people's history and image for commercial gain? We pick and choose WHEN to be politically correct in this country. Lord knows if we called the Boston Bruins the White Skins or any NBA team the Black skins people would be picketing.
 
N

NickC

Professional
Disgruntled Worker said:
That's bull. I should be proud that whites are parading around my people's history and image for commercial gain? We pick and choose WHEN to be politically correct in this country. Lord knows if we called the Boston Bruins the White Skins or any NBA team the Black skins people would be picketing.
Click to expand...

Actually, it's not white people parading around with your people's history and image for commercial gain. Take a look at Washington's roster...besides the kicker, how many white people do you see? ......Not that many...if any.

And besides, the organization is some 40 or 50 years old....if the "natives" of the area decided that such a name was offensive, they would have said so right then and there.

There's a time where complaining is valid, and following that period complaining is redundant, stupid, and makes the complainer sound like a petulant, spoilt child who isn't satisfied that the world was already moved for him, now he wants it moved a second time.
 
Disgruntled Worker

Disgruntled Worker

Professional
NickC said:
Actually, it's not white people parading around with your people's history and image for commercial gain. Take a look at Washington's roster...besides the kicker, how many white people do you see? ......Not that many...if any.

And besides, the organization is some 40 or 50 years old....if the "natives" of the area decided that such a name was offensive, they would have said so right then and there.

There's a time where complaining is valid, and following that period complaining is redundant, stupid, and makes the complainer sound like a petulant, spoilt child who isn't satisfied that the world was already moved for him, now he wants it moved a second time.
Click to expand...

For the record, I'm not Native American. I'm a first generation Cambodian-American. Also, I HATE political correctness as well because I truly believe in the First Amendment and the rights allowed us by it. The term "redskins", however, is about as blatantly racist as they come and it's time they changed it.

You mention that the name has been around since the 60's. Well, so wasn't segregation.
 
K

krz

Professional
NickC said:
Political-correctness is vastly overrated. Groups who are offended by certain words (with the exception of a certain word that you don't call a black person that starts with N) need to chill out and stop taking offense to every little thing.
Click to expand...

I mean, I agree that people are too sensitive these days but, your statement reads as if you are saying that blacks are the only group allowed to be offended by certain words?

I'm going to be honest, it's something that I have noticed is a sentiment shared by many in today's society, PC'ness really only applies to certain groups.
 
Bartelby

Bartelby

Bionic Poster
The reality is that certain groups have suffered from ill treatment historically and the words used to describe them that are now 'controversial' often stem from that period.

For people with no knowledge of history or who were unaffected by it, I can see how this might seem a problem.

it depends on whether you think a lessening of social animosities is worth the slight restriction on speech which is mostly an informal one.

The formal and informal censorship of free speech in America has long predated PC despite what some say. Just ask Bogie!
 
Bartelby

Bartelby

Bionic Poster
Probably the body that invented PC before PC in America:

'The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects civil rights for all," doing so through "information, education, legislation, and advocacy."[1][2]

Founded in October 1913 by The Independent Order of B'nai B'rith, a Jewish service organization in the United States, its original mission statement was "to stop, by appeals to reason and conscience and, if necessary, by appeals to law, the defamation of the Jewish people. Its ultimate purpose is to secure justice and fair treatment to all citizens alike and to put an end forever to unjust and unfair discrimination against and ridicule of any sect or body of citizens."[1] '
 
Fearsome Forehand

Fearsome Forehand

Professional
GS said:
That D.C. city council member wants em to change their name to the Redtails. Redtail hawks are native to the D.C. area.
Hey, are there any cardinal birds in Arizona?
Click to expand...

The franchise was originally in Chicago, then St. Louis. Lots of cardinals in the m idwest (and The Vatican. ) :)

How about the Washington Native Americans?

I sort of like the Washington Lying D-Bags, or the Washington Lobbyists.
 
ollinger

ollinger

G.O.A.T.
A little sensitivity is good thing. When Abe Polin owned the NBA Baltimore Bullets he started to feel uncomfortable about the name and held a contest to change it, ultimately settling on the (Washington) Wizards.
 
ollinger

ollinger

G.O.A.T.
Keep the Redskins name but change the logo to a guy laying on a towel with a terrible sunburn. Perhaps on the banks of the Potomac?
 
R

rainingaces

Legend
How many native Americans play for the redskins? Black skins seems much more appropriate.

In all seriousness keep the name its not racist its traditional and something natives can be proud of.
 
volleygirl

volleygirl

Rookie
ollinger said:
A little sensitivity is good thing. When Abe Polin owned the NBA Baltimore Bullets he started to feel uncomfortable about the name and held a contest to change it, ultimately settling on the (Washington) Wizards.
Click to expand...



Oh yea, and that has made everything so much better
 
ollinger

ollinger

G.O.A.T.
^^ cynicism or smarminess not appropriate here; Polin made clear at the time that HE was uncomfortable with the name and the change was intended to make HIM feel better about owning the team. He made no grandiose proclamations about making "everything so much better." The kid who brings the ball makes the rules.
 
8

813wilson

Rookie
ollinger said:
A little sensitivity is good thing. When Abe Polin owned the NBA Baltimore Bullets he started to feel uncomfortable about the name and held a contest to change it, ultimately settling on the (Washington) Wizards.
Click to expand...

Olli,

While you're correct about Abe owning the team and his uncomfortable feeling, they had been in Washington for more than 20 years before he made the change.

And to your comment to Volley Girl, I agree with you. I'm not saying the name change made a difference but the crime rate in DC is nothing like it was in the early/mid 90's when Abe changed the name....

Does anyone know if Daniel Snyder - Redskins owner - does anything for the Native American community? It would seem a good opportunity to educate others about the Native American history and also contribute to their education/well being.
 
spaceman_spiff

spaceman_spiff

Hall of Fame
Why not call them the Washington Piscataways, named after the first tribe that settled in the DC area? The description ("physically dark, very tall, muscular and well-proportioned people") seems to fit the current team. And, instead of using a potentially offensive term, you're instead using the name of a particular tribe.

http://www.dcpages.com/History/Piscataway.shtml
 
sapient007

sapient007

Semi-Pro
being transplant to the dc area, i really like the name "washington foreskins" as that's how useless the team plays.
 
Fearsome Forehand

Fearsome Forehand

Professional
spaceman_spiff said:
Why not call them the Washington Piscataways, named after the first tribe that settled in the DC area? The description ("physically dark, very tall, muscular and well-proportioned people") seems to fit the current team. And, instead of using a potentially offensive term, you're instead using the name of a particular tribe.

http://www.dcpages.com/History/Piscataway.shtml
Click to expand...

Most liberals find naming teams after indian tribes to be offensive. I am aware of colleges which used tribe names for their teams for decades that recently changed their team name to a species of bird or something similar. Apparently, the birds don't mind. :)

Too bad because the Washington Potomacs would be a cool name.

I am amazed the Redskins have hung on to that name so long in the era of PC.
 
Last edited:
spaceman_spiff

spaceman_spiff

Hall of Fame
Fearsome Forehand said:
Most liberals find naming teams after indian tribes to be offensive. I am aware of colleges which used tribe names for their teams that changed it to a bird or something similar. Apparently, the birds don't mind. :)

Too bad because the Washington Potomacs would be a cool name.

I am amazed the Redskins have hung on to that name so long in the era of PC.
Click to expand...

Most of the examples that I've seen show that, if a team is named after a local tribe, there aren't really any huge problems as long as the local tribe is ok with it. For example, FSU and the name "Seminoles."

It's usually generic terms like Braves, Redskins, etc., that seem to cause problems from what I've seen.
 
R

Richard Pur

Rookie
spaceman_spiff said:
Most of the examples that I've seen show that, if a team is named after a local tribe, there aren't really any huge problems as long as the local tribe is ok with it. For example, FSU and the name "Seminoles."

It's usually generic terms like Braves, Redskins, etc., that seem to cause problems from what I've seen.
Click to expand...

However, in the case of the Seminoles, funny how some of the offensiveness of using the mascot goes away with some money.

http://nativeappropriations.com/201...ce-fsu-and-the-seminole-tribe-of-florida.html

While I am not a minority, the naming of teams based on local tribes, in my opinion, and if tastefully done, can honor local tribes, and their customs and history can be appreciated. Maybe education/history about the tribes should be interjected into the sports program and to the fans.

It's when agreements are made that include financial settlements, does it make you really wonder how offended the people really were........

I went to the University of Illinois where Chief Illiniwek was taken away. And the dance at halftime he did was tasteful, and even as a college student, I did find myself thinking about what the indian life in that area might have been like. I didn't follow up with any research or anything. But if they put a museam or something in the stadium to honor the tribe, it would go a lot farther, in theory, than giving the tribe a cut of merchandise sales.

So if you change the name of the team, the tribe would fall further into oblivion and they will fade away forever. There's got to be a happy medium here.
 
volleygirl

volleygirl

Rookie
Have any Irish whiteys been outside Notre Dame stadium portesting the use of the name "the Fighting Irish?" I dont think so
 
hollywood9826

hollywood9826

Hall of Fame
ollinger said:
A little sensitivity is good thing. When Abe Polin owned the NBA Baltimore Bullets he started to feel uncomfortable about the name and held a contest to change it, ultimately settling on the (Washington) Wizards.
Click to expand...

Wizards is better than Abecats
 
coolblue123

coolblue123

Hall of Fame
don't know why Synder is keeping the name despite so much bad press.
If it means less people will buy jerseys, memorabilia, and tickets, why not just change the name?

Maybe that's the reason why Washington Natives has been so negative towards him? No one can seem to figure him out?
 
T

tenniscasey

Semi-Pro
ollinger said:
A little sensitivity is good thing. When Abe Polin owned the NBA Baltimore Bullets he started to feel uncomfortable about the name and held a contest to change it, ultimately settling on the (Washington) Wizards.
Click to expand...

Point of order: They were actually the Washington Bullets for almost 25 years (1974-1997) before changing their name to the Wizards.

As for the Redskins name... I'm no great champion of PC causes, but the name is pretty clearly racist. M-W calls the term redskin "usually offensive," while dictionary.com calls it "often disparaging and offensive." I'm not aware of any other sources that call the term redskin a high compliment.
 
atatu

atatu

Legend
They were called the Bullets because they used to play in the Baltimore Armory....Abe changed the name because he thought it glorified violence....I've always hated the Wizards name, no idea how they came up with that ?
 
Fearsome Forehand

Fearsome Forehand

Professional
tenniscasey said:
Point of order: They were actually the Washington Bullets for almost 25 years (1974-1997) before changing their name to the Wizards.

As for the Redskins name... I'm no great champion of PC causes, but the name is pretty clearly racist. M-W calls the term redskin "usually offensive," while dictionary.com calls it "often disparaging and offensive." I'm not aware of any other sources that call the term redskin a high compliment.
Click to expand...

If you called me a pale face, I think I would recover quickly. :)

The racism card has been so thoroughly overplayed IMHO (to the point of being both a running joke and meaningless.)
 
dParis

dParis

Hall of Fame
volleygirl said:
Have any Irish whiteys been outside Notre Dame stadium portesting the use of the name "the Fighting Irish?" I dont think so
Click to expand...

This ^^^

The Chief Illiniwek controversy was absurd. A bunch of purposeless lives devolving into victimhood.

There are many cities, towns, counties, parks, forests and rivers in Illinois that should probably change their names too.
 
tennytive

tennytive

Hall of Fame
Isn't "Political Correctness" an oxymoron?

However to be compliant, I've stopped calling myself a "Weekend Warrior", and am now a "Weekend Golden Eagle".
 
volleygirl

volleygirl

Rookie
dParis said:
This ^^^

The Chief Illiniwek controversy was absurd. A bunch of purposeless lives devolving into victimhood.

There are many cities, towns, counties, parks, forests and rivers in Illinois that should probably change their names too.
Click to expand...


Can you imagine the outrage today if a team used the name Amigos like the ABA basketball team in Anaheim did? One of the Anaheim Amigos cartoon type logos was actually of an illegal alien in a sombrero.
 
atatu

atatu

Legend
How do you know the cartoon logo was illegal ? Maybe he had a green card....that's hilarious. I don't find the idea of an amigo mascot offensive at all, doesn't the word just mean "friend" ? Remember the Frito Bandito ? Now that was a great mascot.
 
volleygirl

volleygirl

Rookie
atatu said:
How do you know the cartoon logo was illegal ? Maybe he had a green card....that's hilarious. I don't find the idea of an amigo mascot offensive at all, doesn't the word just mean "friend" ? Remember the Frito Bandito ? Now that was a great mascot.
Click to expand...

Oh yea, the Frito Bandito was awesome. Great magnets for the fridge
 
Bartelby

Bartelby

Bionic Poster
Probably the body that invented PC before PC in America:

'The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects civil rights for all," doing so through "information, education, legislation, and advocacy."[1][2]

Founded in October 1913 by The Independent Order of B'nai B'rith, a Jewish service organization in the United States, its original mission statement was "to stop, by appeals to reason and conscience and, if necessary, by appeals to law, the defamation of the Jewish people. Its ultimate purpose is to secure justice and fair treatment to all citizens alike and to put an end forever to unjust and unfair discrimination against and ridicule of any sect or body of citizens."[1] '


I don't think that the B'nai B'rith would agree that the race card is overplayed

Fearsome Forehand said:
If you called me a pale face, I think I would recover quickly. :)

The racism card has been so thoroughly overplayed IMHO (to the point of being both a running joke and meaningless.)
Click to expand...
 
atatu

atatu

Legend
Picture of the FB

For those of you too young to remember the Frito Bandito:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frito_Bandito

The Frito Bandito was the cartoon mascot for Fritos corn chips from 1967 to 1971. The Bandito was created by the Foote, Cone & Belding Agency, and animated by Tex Avery. The character was voiced by Mel Blanc, who used an exaggerated Mexican accent not unlike another character of his, Speedy Gonzales. The Frito Bandito spoke broken English and robbed people of their Frito corn chips, a reference to the “Mexican bandit” stereotype in western movies. He also complained that he was being pursued by the “Frito Bureau of Investigation”.

Pressure from the National Mexican-American Anti-Defamation Committee and others prompted an update to the character; his gold tooth and stubble were eliminated and his hair combed. The character was completely retired in 1971.[1] He was initially replaced by the Muncha Bunch, a group of cowboys, which then were replaced by W.C. Fritos, modeled after comedian W.C. Fields.[2]
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top