Hail To The…?
The Washington Redskins are no more. Well, the nickname, not the team. Then again, if you ask many football fans, the nation’s capital hasn’t had much of a football team in the 21st century. Owner Daniel Snyder finally caved in to pressure to change the team name. If Snyder wasn’t going to change it now, at a time when the call for social justice is on the rise and mistakes of the past like Confederate monuments are being removed, when was he going to?
If you see nothing wrong with a team being named the Redskins, you’re far from alone. In fact, I used to be among those who didn’t see the big deal. My high school mascot was also the Redskins, and I took pride in having what I thought was a cool nickname for my school’s sports teams. I remember hearing rumors of the name being changed due to racist controversy and didn’t understand why this was an issue. Mind you, this was despite having what the Houston Chronicle described as “a big-toothed, big-nosed, diaper-clad artificial statue called Big Red that was trotted out at sports events.” Wow. It’s hard to believe how blind I was. I even remember being upset at the time and taking part in the social media campaign of “Once a #Redskin, always a #Redskin. #ForeverRedskins.”
In the end, Lamar ended up choosing Texans as their new nickname. I wasn’t too fond of it since I felt a lack of creativity, but the issue of having a derogatory slur as school mascot was at least a thing of the past. The reason I didn’t see anything wrong with it is due to our culture being one of routine appropriation. How many of you played Cowboys vs Indians with the Indians usually being the villains? Is that what we’ve come to think of when it comes to Native Americans? Wild savages we can dress up as and use as mascots for our sports teams? We ignore the fact Native Americans were pushed out of their original settlements to accommodate our Manifest Destiny desires. We also ignore the fact we massacred them through out history and later gave them the worst pieces of land to settle on known as reservations.
The Redskins were far from the only team to have a mascot considered derogatory over the years. Over time, schools have changed or adjusted their mascots like my high school due to pressure. For example, you may now know the St. John’s Red Storm and Syracuse Orange. But what you may not know, is they were once known as the Red Men and Orangemen and had Native American caricatures as their mascots. The Cleveland Indians are another team facing pressure to change their name and have acquiesced somewhat by stating they will no longer use Chief Wahoo as their primary logo. In the past and even now, we have routinely not seen an issue with this situation and that’s a problem. Why?
The National Congress of American Indians had this to say in 2013: “The report NCAI has released today provides the history of an overwhelming movement to end the era of harmful “Indian” mascots — including the fact that Native peoples have fought these mascots since 1963 and no professional sports team has established a new ‘Indian’ mascot since 1964. There is one thing that we can agree with the Washington football team about — the name ‘Redsk*ns’ is a reflection of the team’s legacy and history. Unfortunately, the team’s legacy and history is an ugly one, rooted in racism and discrimination, including the origins of the team’s name. It is becoming more and more obvious that the team’s legacy on racial equality is to remain on the wrong side of history for as long as possible.”
The article goes on to mention how original George Marshall gave the team the nickname, while also leading a 13-year ban on African American players in the NFL. In fact, the Redskins were the last team to integrate in 1962, and only did so, after basically being forced to by then Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. When you read all this, you don’t exactly get the best impression of this organization. However, the results Washington achieved on the field led to the team being very popular in the nation’s capital.
The team Daniel Snyder bought in 1999 is a far cry from the organization it once was. One of the greatest coaches in NFL history, Vince Lombardi, had a one-year stint as coach in D.C. before his life was tragically cut short in 1970. In 1971, George Allen took over as head coach and led Washington to some playoff success, although they’re best known for falling short to the undefeated Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VII. While the team experienced some mild success in the 1970s, the next decade would serve as the golden years. Washington won 3 Super Bowls in the 1980s under Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs featuring Hall of Famers like John Riggins and Darrell Green, along with a memorable offensively known affectionately as the Hogs.
Washington won their last Super Bowl in 1992, and head coach Joe Gibbs retired shortly after. Since then, the team has struggled to put together a winning product. When Daniel Snyder bought the team, it appeared things started off well as they made the playoffs in his first year as owner. However, except for a 4 year stretch of slight stability under Joe Gibbs, who came out of a retirement to coach from 2004–07, Snyder has had a turnstile at the head coaching position. He’s also overpaid for stars who went were past their prime like Deion Sanders, Albert Haynesworth, Jeremiah Trotter, and Bruce Smith. Smith and Sanders are Hall of Famers, but that was mainly due to their play before they arrived D.C. A passionate fanbase that once made RFK Stadium shake due to constant jumping, has now turned apathetic. Washington’s current home, FedEx Field, once boasted the largest capacity in the league seating over 90,000 fans. However, results on the field, unhappiness with ownership, front office and gameday experience have led to the capacity to 82,000. When it’s gameday, the stadium is either half empty or full of opposing fans, especially when it’s an NFC East rival.
Above any mismanagement this team has experienced under Snyder, the worst was keeping Redskins as the team name for so long. Only 7 years ago, he told USA Today, “We’ll never change the name,” he said. “It’s that simple. NEVER — you can use caps.” While there is pressure due to the social justice movement, my sentiment is that Snyder gave in due to pressure from someone that matters most to a businessman like himself, the corporate sponsors. Retail companies began to remove merchandise from their shelves and online sites. FedEx also stated they might remove their corporate sponsorship of Washington’s home field if the team didn’t change their name.
Finally, Snyder gave in and at first said he would review the team name. Then on July 13th, he made the delayed but correct decision to retire the team name. The team said: “Dan Snyder and Coach Rivera are working closely to develop a new name and design approach that will enhance the standing of our proud, tradition-rich franchise and inspire our sponsors, fans and community for the next 100 years.” You can’t change the past, but what you can do is admit the mistakes you’ve made, promise to not make them again, then act on that promise to ensure a better future. Snyder deserves the blame for wrongly maintaining the name and even saying emphatically that he would never change it. But there were many before who kept the name the same, and it’s possible a reason he didn’t want to change was to mess with tradition and history. However, when your tradition and history involve cultural appropriation and derogatory slurs, there’s a problem. While the reason Daniel Snyder decided to change the name may not be a good one, the important thing is finally he did. It’s just a shame it took so long for this happen.
