No need to chop Chiefs tag, but let Exeter fans vote on club branding
Is it time for Exeter Chiefs to follow the lead of Washington Redskins and drop their Native American branding? The NFL side announced on Monday that they were retiring both their Redskins moniker and logo featuring a Native American after mounting pressure from sponsors and a long-running campaign claiming its usage was racist.
The decision was swiftly seized upon by a small but vocal campaign group who are calling for the Premiership club to follow suit.
A petition started by a group of Exeter supporters has more than 2,800 signatures calling for the club to change their branding, including their use of the “Big Chief ” mascot, “Tomahawk Chop” chant and all First Nation or Native American imagery, including headdresses in the club badge. The petition has the support of Exeter MP Ben Bradshaw.
The club have launched a review to be considered at a board meeting this month and, given the momentum of the global Black Lives Matter campaign, the pressure for change is mounting.
But the Exeter issue is more complex. The club adopted the Chiefs moniker in 1999, when many sporting organisations in the UK were starting to use American sport sobriquets for marketing reasons. But its origins lay not in the United States but from the tradition in Devon for clubs to call their first team “the Chiefs”, dating back to the early 1900s.
A local design and marketing company drew up the logo. It had a low-key impact until the success of the club led to the increasing popularity of the use of headdresses by supporters and the “Tomahawk Chop” chant as Exeter evolved into one of the top sides in the country.
A counter-petition has been launched, which argues that the use of the logo and branding is about “representing and honouring Native Americans” and it has attracted similar levels of support. Both groups back up their case on social media and the discourse has inevitably become toxic, leaving the club in the thankless situation of knowing that whatever decision they take, it risks alienating a section of their support. There is also the financial impact to consider.
At a time when Exeter are reportedly losing £1 million a month because of the impact of Covid-19, rebranding the club and disposing of stock would cost them more than £250,000. Chris
Bentley, the former lock who made 126 appearances for the club before he joined the corporate team for six years as sales manager at Sandy Park, is urging a more considered debate.
“It is quite right that the Washington Redskins have decided to rebrand because of the killing and displacement of Native Americans there,” Bentley said. “But it is very different to say there is a sports team in Devon where they have taken a generic image and are using it as a way to celebrate. It means nothing but celebration and veneration, not any intended negative connotation. Yet some very angry people, a couple of whom are based in China, are accusing Exeter Chiefs of being systemically racist and I take exception to that. The club is one of the best employers of black and ethnic minority people in the region. “I have taken a lot of abuse online but my message has been, we are rugby folk, why don’t we go for a pint to discuss it? This is a better way to have a conversation. “If the biggest issue in their life is my five-year-old son waving a tomahawk axe and chanting, they should be happy at how privileged their life is. There are far bigger problems in the world, such as hundreds of thousands of kids going to die in Africa because of malaria, who could be saved.” The answer would seem to lie in a compromise. Exeter represent one of the success stories of the professional era. It is understandable that ex-players and fans would take offence at accusations of racism. The club have taken the right step to review the use of their imagery and branding. So why not keep the moniker, which has its roots in Devon, and ask their supporters to vote on the use of the imagery and branding? It is already more than 20 years old, and due a review. An engagement with the supporters could unearth fresh ideas and tighten the bond with the community at a time when all clubs need to broaden their support base.