Roger Goodell: Redskins Name Honors Native Americans
Source: Huffington Post
NEW YORK (AP) NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says the Washington Redskins nickname has been "presented in a way that honors Native Americans."
Goodell said Friday at his annual pre-Super Bowl news conference that he's been talking to Native American leaders in the past year. But he says the vast majority of Americans in general and Native Americans in particular support the franchise keeping the nickname.
Asked if the term was appropriate to refer to a Native American, Goodell said, "This is the name of a football team."
Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/31/roger-goodell-redskins-name-honors-native-americans_n_4703294.html
Entire article included. I guess Goodell is doubling down on the stupid.
brush
(53,759 posts)Apology coming soon.
niyad
(113,216 posts)olddad56
(5,732 posts)another_liberal
(8,821 posts)Native Americans just don't seem able to see it that way? Maybe management should change the team's name to the "Washington Whities."
Has kind of a ring, doesn't it.
Quasimodem
(441 posts)In addition to the honor such a name entails, it's a true statement about many of Washington's most visible minority -- politicians.
another_liberal
(8,821 posts)And it is a good deal more accurate.
Pathwalker
(6,598 posts)Seems fitting, somehow.
another_liberal
(8,821 posts)One thing is certain, that name would be highly popular with the Republican fans.
BlueStreak
(8,377 posts)Who could object to that?
"Manning has started this second half with an impressive drive against the Lobbyists. It is second and three form the Lobbyist's 39.
Here's the snap. Manning on a 7-step drop. He sails the ball to a streaking Demaryius Thomas on a post route. Looks like that ball is on target. But wait, the Lobbyist safety just slipped Thomas a bag of cash.
AND HE DROPPED THE BALL. Can you believe that? ..."
hlthe2b
(102,197 posts)REDSKINS is anything but offensive and historically derisive, bigoted, demeaning.
wilt the stilt
(4,528 posts)I used to think it was Stern and Selig in a tie but this takes you to the head of the class. Ni**er is a term of endearment. I asked the bigots and the assured me of it.
theaocp
(4,235 posts)Wetbacks. Or the San Francisco Chinamen. What team wants to take on the N-Word?
What an absolute clown. Jeez.
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)mac56
(17,566 posts)Nye Bevan
(25,406 posts)mac56
(17,566 posts)Nye Bevan
(25,406 posts)mac56
(17,566 posts)KeepItReal
(7,769 posts)Have you ever seen him penalize or sanction an owner?
LibGranny
(711 posts)I find the term "redskin(s)" horribly offensive! I guess that makes Goodell a Cracker!
Auggie
(31,156 posts)lunasun
(21,646 posts)riverwalker
(8,694 posts)The NCAI is not a wealthy organization and cannot buy a television slot during the Super Bowl to run its ad. But you can help make it go viral by emailing it, tweeting it and putting it on your Facebook or other social media pages.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/01/31/1274027/-Here-s-an-ad-about-R-skins-that-its-makers-don-t-have-the-money-to-show-at-Sunday-s-Superbowl?
iandhr
(6,852 posts)Surely you can't be serious.
Comrade Grumpy
(13,184 posts)Fred Sanders
(23,946 posts)built the railways.....I am sure they would be honored....by the way, the REAL "redskins" of America have been asked and they do NOT feel honored at all.
lunasun
(21,646 posts)I guess goodell wont mind me calling him a nasty fucking asshole cuz that is just my nickname 4 him so it is OK !!
mac56
(17,566 posts)dbackjon
(6,578 posts)alp227
(32,015 posts)Comrade Grumpy
(13,184 posts)Despite vocal and legal action from Native American groups and scholars, the vast majority of people surveyed on the subject in prior years did not find the name offensive. Following the 1992 Super Bowl protests, The Washington Post posted a survey in which "89 percent of those surveyed said that the name should stay." In a study performed in 2004 by the National Annenberg Survey, Native Americans from the 48 continental U.S. states were asked "The professional football team in Washington calls itself the Washington Redskins. As a Native American, do you find that name offensive or doesn't it bother you?" In response, ninety percent replied that the name is acceptable, while nine percent said that it was offensive, and one percent would not answer.[75][76] The problem of individuals claiming to be Native American when they are not is well known in academic research, limiting the value of public opinion polls of the mascot issue.[77] It is a particular problem when non-natives claim Indian identity to gain authority in the debate over sports mascots.[78]
More recent national polls show continued support for retaining the name, although lower (79%) than previously.[79] The opinion of Redskin fans continues to favor keeping the name. Comments made by fans on the web in response to news stories tend to dismiss the controversy as political correctness, and that the name refers to nothing except the football team.[80]
In July 2013 The Washington Post conducted a phone survey of people living in the DC Metro Area. No questions about ethnicity were asked, only whether respondents supported the continued use of the Redskins name and if they were sports fans in general and fans of the team in particular. 66% of the respondents supported retention of the name, while 82% said that if the name did change, they would continue to support the team. A small majority (56%) of those that would keep the name also thought that the word "redskin" was not an appropriate way to describe a Native American Indian.[81]
Similar results came from a poll of residents of the DC Metro Area commissioned by the Oneida Indian Nation of New York and conducted in October 2013 which found that although sports fans want to keep the name, 59% also say Native Americans have a right to feel offended by the term redskins and 44% say that when they learn the term is defined as 'offensive' by the dictionary, they are more likely to support changing the team name. Additionally, most people (66%) say that if Snyder meets with Native American leaders, he should not refer to them as "redskins" because the term is inappropriate.
There are basic issues with the reliability of public opinion polls that overshadow their value in many cases. There has been a decline in the willingness of people to participate, now down to about 10%, so there is no way of knowing whether there is any systematic bias in the results. Survey methods influence the results, with those done by traditional mail over-sampling the elderly, and telephone surveys done using only land-lines under-sample the young, who only have cell phones.[82]
Steve Russell, an enrolled Cherokee citizen and associate professor of criminal justice at Indiana University, states that both SI and Annenberg's samples of "self-identified Native Americans... includes plenty of people who have nothing to do with Indians".[83]
Louis Gray, president of the Tulsa Indian Coalition Against Racism and an Osage Indian: You wouldnt [take a poll] with any other race. You wouldnt have African-Americans vote to decide whether or not any sort of racial epitaph would be offensive. [84]
riverwalker
(8,694 posts)they only asked 768 people.
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)it does not matter if a bunch of crackers think it is okay, if Native Americans are offended by it then it should be corrected.
diabeticman
(3,121 posts)The Chiefs or The Braves honor the Native Americans! Not a demeaning word like the Redskins.
I am losing all hope for sanity in this country.
bpj62
(999 posts)I have been a Redskins fan my entire life and I have never thought that the name was offensive. I have listened to both sides of the discussions as well as the surveys that are listed above. My feeling is that the one tribe in Connecticut that is really pushing this issue is looking for one thing and one thing only and that is to cash in on the money that would be made if the patent and trade office says that the name Redskins is offensive and that is can no longer be trademarked. The symbol on the helmet was designed by a Native American at the request of coach George Allen who wanted something that was authentic and not a caricature of the American Indian. I know that this issue wont go away and it comes up every year during the Super Bowl. By the way the Tomahawk chop and the chant that goes with it is far more demeaning in my opinion.
n2doc
(47,953 posts)I love how the press and others seem to think that the Redskins fan base is a bunch of Rednecks. Also none of the names shown above have ever been the names of sports teams and are used as straw men to support one side of the argument.
JoeyT
(6,785 posts)It makes them stupid bigots. They're not mutually exclusive, but they're not the same.
Clearly the real victims here are the people that think a bunch of dirty minorities should quit their whining about a team being named for a racial slur.
Nye Bevan
(25,406 posts)I would say change the name, not because it's horribly offensive (which it isn't) but because I'm getting bored of the oh-so-politically correct faux outrage brigade.
JoeyT
(6,785 posts)Nye Bevan
(25,406 posts)lunasun
(21,646 posts)Tikki
(14,556 posts)to show you samples of red skin foundation...DOES NOT EXIST.
Then stop by he men's department and ask for tighty whiteys..THEY DO EXIST.
Tikki
theHandpuppet
(19,964 posts)Or as my Momma would say, "Bull hockey!"
Hulk
(6,699 posts)Would either of those be so offensive to many?..or any? Just askin'
okaawhatever
(9,461 posts)appropriate. Of course, I don't know why they're the Redskins anyway. I don't think there's a specific tie to Native Americans in D.C.
Hulk
(6,699 posts)...which would REALLY PISS OFF the red necks, as it's Spanish for the natives who inhabited the land before the European conquest. Just saying for laughs..but oh my God, would that get vannity and limpballs on their warpaths.
okaawhatever
(9,461 posts)olddad56
(5,732 posts)okaawhatever
(9,461 posts)JRLeft
(7,010 posts)okaawhatever
(9,461 posts)JRLeft
(7,010 posts)olddad56
(5,732 posts)And it is probably even more offensive to them, that the owners won't respect them and change the name. It is Washington for crying out loud, the team sucks, why not just change their name to the Washington Losers.
JRLeft
(7,010 posts)JRLeft
(7,010 posts)Woody Allen famously paraphrased Groucho Marx's sentiments that he didn't "want to belong to any club that would accept me as one of its members," which is smart for him, considering the controversy he's found himself in lately. However, the same cannot be said for Washington football team owner Dan Snyder.
Over at Think Progress, Travis Waldron has a lengthy but interesting report about the "epic battle" to save the Washington football team's namethe "most offensive team name in professional sports"and in it, it reveals some of the "high-profile Republican advisors" Snyder has recruited to help him win this epic battle. Spoiler alert: It's, uh, quite a colorful team Snyder has assembled. From ThinkProgress:
Included in the email chain were Frank Luntz, the Republican messaging consultant famous for phrases like climate change and death tax; Ari Fleischer, who served as White House press secretary under George W. Bush from 2001 and 2003 and now runs a consulting firm called Ari Fleischer Sports Communications; George Allen, the former Virginia governor and U.S. senator who now runs the consulting firm George Allen Strategies; and Bruce Allen, George Allens brother and the organizations general manager and executive vice president.
As you may recall, George Allen was last in the spotlight when he caught using a racial slur to describe one of his opponent's staffers on camera. Oh and then there's Lanny Davis, who has accrued quite the honorable client list over the years. Snyder has reportedly retained him "to help communications strategy." It is, as New York Magazine's Jonathan Chait puts it, "an entire roster of Beltway super-villains."
So yeah, I think it's safe to say the controversy surrounding the Washington football team's name isn't dying down anytime in the near future. Should be a fun season come August.
http://dcist.com/2014/01/meet_dan_snyders_team.php
okaawhatever
(9,461 posts)taxpayers who need the ticket sales. It will still be fun to go to the games. The one product that goes directly to the owners and NFL is the merchandising rights. The second thing would be to boycott watching it on tv, but again that may hurt the players. Boycott Redskins merch.
bpj62
(999 posts)The merchandise revenue is split equally among all 32 teams. Jacksonville gets the same amount as Dallas does.
okaawhatever
(9,461 posts)olddad56
(5,732 posts)olddad56
(5,732 posts)Last edited Sat Feb 1, 2014, 03:37 PM - Edit history (1)
I live in Ca. When they came out to play SF this year, one of the guys on the niner flagship radio station referred to them on the air as the "professional football team from Washington DC".
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)sounds like "I know black people"
Tom Ripley
(4,945 posts)awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)that one, too. I actually do- my grandfather was 1/8th Cherokee.
RedstDem
(1,239 posts)they get to keep the name, but they have to change the logo to the potato....
kidding aside, i think change is coming, not this time, but soon.
mike_c
(36,281 posts)Redskin is the derogatory equivalent term for native Americans. Washington Kikes? Washington Chinks? Washington Wetbacks?
olddad56
(5,732 posts)Why should Washington be the only team in the NFL that is allowed to engage in bigotry?
Tom Ripley
(4,945 posts)annm4peace
(6,119 posts)wow.
I walked with the Native community last year from the American Indian Center to the Metrodome in Minneapolis. I near by. There were over 1000 of us with 90% being native. Young, old, women, men.. and yes they do suffer from this racism. Many of the older people were taken from their families and forced to go to the boarding schools. Many talked of shame they felt when "Scalp em" were used at their high school, college, or programs. Some talked of having to let their children or grandchildren know what Redskin meant?, where it came from.. and where they going to be scalped. It is shameful. I'm done with Pro football. I like watching the games and often buy NFL gifts. 2 years ago I knitted my brother a hat with Oakland colors.. I'm done. NO more. I hope Goodell gets fired.
I'll watch the game and the ads.. and keep note of the ads and make sure to write those companies a letter of why I will no longer buy their products.
Shameful. it is 2014 and these A.holes have to hang on for dear life to their racism.
Orsino
(37,428 posts)Scuba
(53,475 posts)dembotoz
(16,797 posts)Jack Rabbit
(45,984 posts)Good grief, what an ignorant remark!
jmowreader
(50,549 posts)Rename the team the Washington Reagans. The rwnj's would love it until they remember how bad that team actually is...lots of Ronnie-themed jokes await.
thefool_wa
(1,867 posts)Is that freedom of speech is guaranteed, however there is no right to be free from offense. Its one of the oldest names in football, I don't think the NFL brand is in any danger of loosing fans, money, or anything else significant by refusing to change it, and THEY are the ones who have a right to say "if you don't like it, we don't have to care" - because really they don't.
This is one of the biggest non-issues I see talked about on here. You don't like it? Don't watch football. THAT'S what America is all about, not coddling everyone who thinks two words strung together is somehow meant to offend them.
Aristus
(66,309 posts)brewens
(13,559 posts)Both had ridiculous caricature "Indians" for mascots but both changed names 30 some years ago because of pressure from our local Nez Perce Tribe. Sacajawea only changed to the nickname "Braves" though, but with a much more dignified mascot that the tribe didn't object to at the time.
Now they are being asked to change the name of the school entirely and do away with that mascot. Fine by me. I think they should rename it after one of a few long time teachers I had. It was a new school when I was there. It's now about 40 years old I think.
I was a little pissed off they were changing the name the first time but I was 15 I think. It changed the year after I left. I didn't have a clue why anyone would object to being "Savage"? If it was cool for us? I know it's not the same thing now.
One thing was that we played Lapwai in sports. That's the main Nez Perce town. They loved to kick our asses and were quite capable of doing it. I don't blame them if they thought it was quite a joke that their "Wildcats" would stomp the white boy "Savages". My class was a little tougher than most though. We lost two football games in three years, both to Lapwai but we beat them once too.
They had a great old coach out there that still ran the old single wing offense, a relic from the thirties. It was tough to prepare for and if coached well, still works to this day at the high school level. When I was an eigth grader, we beat Lapwai but they killed our freshman team 72-0! The next year we lost 14-12.
indie9197
(509 posts)and that bastard working is working for a corporation that pays no taxes. Yet, they won't negotiate a decent retirement plan for the players. He sucks and the NFL sucks. And he is a liar too when he says Indians approve of the name.
QC
(26,371 posts)Offensive, but they have a point.