‘Redskins’ ban would curtail free speech

Just days after the long-overdue demise of the Cleveland Indians’ Chief Wahoo, an Arizona state legislator is proposing a ban on all things “Redskins” at University of Phoenix Stadium.

He also wants to give Native Americans in Arizona the power to veto any other word or logo they find offensive at any other publicly funded sports facility.

“If we are choosing to spend money on these publicly funded stadiums, I do not think that we should make offending our indigenous brothers and sisters the official policy of the state of Arizona,” the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Eric Descheenie, D-Chinle, said last week.

House Bill 2499 has absolutely no chance of even getting a hearing but is noteworthy for just how far it goes.

The bill would make it illegal to use or display the Redskins’ name or logo at any publicly funded sports facility in Arizona.

It also would give any one of the state’s 22 Native American tribes the final word on what can and can’t be said or displayed at all publicly funded sports facilities.

Descheenie says his bill is constitutional and wouldn’t affect what teams or fans can wear.

The bill, however, says a publicly funded stadium “shall prohibit the use or display of a term or logo within the stadium or multipurpose facility” if any tribal council within Arizona notifies the stadium operator in writing that the term or logo is disparaging to Native Americans.

That means TV, radio and stadium announcers couldn’t broadcast any nickname that a tribe found offensive. And presumably, teams would be barred from wearing uniforms that displayed a name or logo deemed objectionable.

I’m guessing fans would have to be policed for what’s on their T-shirts — and for the decals on their cars, as the bill covers stadium parking lots as well.

Curiously, the ban wouldn’t apply to high schools — like say, Red Mesa High School on the Navajo Reservation, whose mascot is the Redskins.

Since 1992, Native Americans have been pressuring the Washington Redskins to give up its name and logo, saying the moniker is a racial slur and an insult. The Redskins have refused, contending it’s an honorable name and a matter of team pride.

Now, the Cleveland Indians team owners have announced they are phasing out its Chief Wahoo logo, having finally recognized that many Native Americans do not enjoy being reduced to a grinning cartoon character.

It’s one thing, however, for a team to decide to make a change based upon pressure from the community.

It is quite another to muzzle a team’s constitutional right to call itself whatever it wants while in Arizona.

Descheenie may not like the team’s name but that dislike is hardly universal among Native Americans. A 2016 Washington Post poll indicated that 90 percent of Native Americans aren’t offended by the Redskins’ nickname.

If Descheenie wants to get the name changed, there are time-honored traditions that can be employed if enough people agree with him. An economic boycott when the team comes to town comes to mind.

But putting a gag on an entire stadium full of people?

There are some things more offensive than a mere word.

Like, say, the loss of a First Amendment right.