WASHINGTON GOT IT RIGHT. WHO’S NEXT?
Time is now to remove offensive names, imagery from pro sports teams, colleges
On Monday — after decades of complaints from Native Americans and a week or two of complaints from big-money sponsors — the Washington NFL team announced it was dropping the nickname it has used since 1937.
The move was, obviously, long overdue.
Of course, there’s no reason to think that these big problems with racism and marginalization are solved by Washington becoming the Redhawks
or Redtails or Redheads (a personal favorite), so I say there’s no reason to stop with Washington.
As per usual, the Bay Area can lead the way in this department. Isn’t it uncanny how that happens time and time again?
The Warriors figured out that “hey, this isn’t cool” and eradicated all Native American imagery from their organization. And while the strange future/retro gladiator thing they had going on was a mistake, the decision to go toward vagueness was not.
Stanford, too, picked up the message not too long after the Warriors, successfully changing from the Indians to, eventually, the Cardinal. Despite the constant need to explain that the team logo is not, in fact, a bird, but instead a tree that represents a color, the move made sense.
Oh, those changes happened 50 years ago.
And no one can pretend as if the name changes were an accident. The issue was clear then:
“Stanford’s continued use of the Indian symbol in the 1970s brings up to visibility a painful lack of sensitivity and awareness on the part of the University,” Stanford ombudsperson Lois Amsterdam wrote at the time to thenuniversity president Richard Lyman. “All of us have in some way, by action or inaction, accepted and supported the use of the Indian symbol on campus. We did not do so with malice, or with intent to defile a racial group. Rather, it was a reflection of our society’s retarded understanding, dulled perception and clouded vision.”
It’s good to see that society is developing — at least a little bit — 50 years later.
And make no mistake, these names are offensive. Native American team names might not have initially come from a place of malice, but they have been co-opted by bad actors — folks who want to treat game day like Halloween by painting their faces and wearing headdresses. No decent person would wear blackface to a game, but over the years, these stereotypes toward Native Americans have normalized such behavior.
Now it’s not just bad actors or the aggressively ignorant joining in.
The “Tomahawk Chop” is believed to have been started at Florida State University in the 1980s. It spread to Kansas City
Chiefs football and then became famous with Atlanta Braves baseball in 1991.
It was, and always has been, a bad look. But if you do something often enough, it is tacitly deemed acceptable behavior
The Washington NFL team name had to go first. It was the most heinous violation of decency.
But both the Warriors and Stanford provide a clear guide on how other teams with team names that aren’t racial slurs can nevertheless be insensitive to Native American people.
The Cleveland baseball team name? Go the Stanford route and drop it.
It shouldn’t be that hard to move on. Cleveland was forced to drop their terribly offensive caricature mascot. As for the “history” that would be lost? Well, Cleveland hasn’t won a World Series since 1948, the longest drought in baseball.
Florida State’s situation is complicated, but the right answer isn’t. The school might have a blessing from the tribe, but it should drop the Seminoles name. All it does is encourage bad actors, like the “Scalp Hunters” society (a real thing). Maybe it’s just me, but I would want to be as many levels removed from something like that as possible.
The Atlanta Braves? The Kansas City Chiefs? Go the Warriors route — get vague.
No Native American imagery. No offensive chants during games. Wipe the slate clean and come up with a new mascot.
The Chicago Blackhawks are halfway there. They might not be trying to offend, but they could offend. The vast majority of the city calls them the Hawks. Go that route. It’s an easy win.
There will be naysayers — people who have nothing to be offended by but want to let you know that they are not offended. They’ll wonder when the team name changes should stop. They’ll claim it’s a slippery slope.
I say let’s get to sliding. Sports are supposed to be fun. They’re supposed to be an escape. And while we know that the flaws of humans and the long tentacles of politics always get involved in the games, these Native American team names corrupt the ability for many, including myself, to enjoy the games and the great athletes that play them.
At best, these organizations are naive about the harm the team names can do.
At worst, as was the case with Washington, they were downright rude.
So I say drop them all. The by-product will be a ton of money for merchandising and a pat on the back for “doing the right thing.” It’s a win-win, and at this point, it’s the least that we can do.