A football team by any other name, would smell as sweet?

Names that stink and why to change them!

You can tell by my profile, and other references on my blog, that I am passionate about working with Indigenous communities across the U.S. and around the world. The story of how I got involved in work with Aboriginal people in Australia and Native people here in the U.S. is a long one that I'd be happy to tell you about sometime...but that's not what this post is about.

In fact, I am passionate about racial diversity more broadly and am thankful to serve a God who pursued racial diversity at "infinite cost" (if you haven't heard or read John Piper's sermon on that issue, you should! Even if you’ve heard his regular sermons, he’s particularly ‘loose’ and funny, as well as his usual incisive exposition and application of Scriptures)

You may not like it…

To lay my cards on the table: I think all thinking people (particularly believers) should not call the Washington football team anything but that. I don’t think we should buy their merchandise, I don’t think we should wear their clothing, I don’t think we should attend their games…until they change the name.

What’s the problem?

At the beginning of a woeful season for the Washington team (from here on, I’ll just refer to them as WT), the Washington Post published an editorial that expressed support for the team but embarrassment (that I share) “to embrace a team that is so terribly named.” Other news outlets have called the team “historically the most racist franchise in professional football"

Native advocates claim that the nickname is clearly a racial slur that attaches a negative stereotype to Native people. One Native attendee at a WT game described their experience as follows:
Any doubt that I was standing at ground zero of Native American Hell was dispelled when I saw what must be the largest and most blatant public display of a racial epithet anywhere in the world — the [team’s nickname] painted in massive block letters across both end zones. (To grasp Native Americans' outrage and humiliation, try to imagine the most hateful and disgusting racial or religious slur that could be used to describe you displayed in colorful, 25-foot letters throughout your community.)
(emphasis added – read the whole article here)

The Response: WT Management

In reaction to a court case in the 1990s and broader expressions of dissatisfaction, team owner, Daniel Snyder, has said the name is intended to honor Native people. The logical conclusion is, therefore, that the name is not racist. As the Post points out “it really is not up to the offender to characterize the nature of the offense. We can't imagine Mr. Snyder, or anyone else for that matter, sitting in a room of Native Americans and referring to them as [the team’s nickname].” One Native writer recommends, that if the intent is really to honor Native people, the owners/home towns of teams with Native mascots should have a meaningful discussion about the best way to honor Native individuals and communities.

The Response: Native People

While there are clearly Native people who feel very strongly about this issue (including colleagues of mine), I see at least two interesting perspectives. The first is the ‘we have bigger fish to fry’ argument. One Native person argues that the name is offensive but, "the issue should not be as big or as time-consuming as it is, and perhaps we should just try to understand the weird customs of the colonizers." The second is the ‘how many people really care’ argument. An Annenberg Public Policy Center survey found that only 9 percent of Native people find the name offensive. Many Native people and scholars who work on this issue regularly, see some problems with the methods of those surveys (particularly claiming the margin of error is significantly wider than the pollsters say and that those self-identifying as Native people, are not necessarily Native).

A twist…

African American writer, Bill Fletcher Jr. makes some interesting points from the perspective of Black America’s experiences, referring to the Confederate flag and the impact of historical racial epithets. The most striking passage is this:
when I insist that something needs to be done about the name of the [WT] it is not just that I believe that it is an insult to Native Americans, though that would be enough to demand a change. Rather it is in addition a demand against the continuous and racist demonization of the enemy of the month, or in the case of Native Americans, the enemy of the last five centuries.

The Post’s editorial makes a similar argument – even if some Native people are ok with it, changing the name is a statement about the kind of society we want to live in. They point to the local example of another team owner in Washington, who was “bothered by the high D.C. murder rate [and so] changed the name of his basketball team from Bullets to Wizards in 1997.”

Colleges Leading the Professionals

Some readers may be aware of the NCAA’s decision in August 2005, to disallow teams from hosting post-season events (like basketball’s March Madness) or bringing their mascot with them when they play in post-season games. Less than two weeks ago, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign exhausted its legal options and retired their Chief Illini mascot (a source of half-time entertainment played by a white student painted red and dressed in a costume and headdress).

A Native leader who has been involved in the anti-WT mascot movement for a long time, Susan Shown Harjo, reflecting on the outcry over UI’s decision, shared her theory that “some of the Chief fans really don't disrespect Native people. They just don't know any.” She shared the sadness of a Native ceremonial leader who felt that “people in D.C. cared more for the Washington football team than they did for real Native people.” Her article has a wonderful list of Native people who are contemporary and historic leaders across the hundreds of Native communities in the U.S., very worth reading!

What does it all mean?

I know some of you WT fans are panicked or just plain mad at me! The article by Fletcher, that I mentioned above, suggests a few strategies that may help you take some concrete baby steps toward getting the name changed!

* DC Residents: don’t go to the games
* Everyone: don’t purchase their merchandise
* Send an email through the ‘Locker Room’ on the team’s website.
* Have your community organization, school, labor union, or religious institution send an e-mail note or hard copy letter to the WT insisting that they change their name.
* Contact opinion makers, including but not limited to elected leaders, asking them to speak out on this issue.

My hesitation to even name the team’s nickname, comes from the fact that I know, appreciate, work with and am friends with Native people. If you’re not willing to do any of the things suggested above – get to know some Native people! If you do, I think Susan Shown Harjo's expectation will be met: “After even a brief exploration…you may kick yourself over the great many Indian people you missed while following the [WT].”