This week the Washington NFL team has announced that "In light of recent events around our country and feedback from our community, the Washington NFL team are announcing the team will undergo a thorough review of the team's name.”
While this “review” is a welcome change from team owner Dan Snyder’s previous statement that the team would “NEVER” change its name, the process cannot be an excuse to delay further or exclude Native voices.
We welcome the growing consensus to change the name:
--> DC Mayor calls for a name change - June 12, 2020
--> Washington Post Editorial calling for a name change - June 19, 2020
--> Move to new stadium blocked until name changes - July 1, 2020
--> Nike drops team merchandise from their website - July 2, 2020
--> Team sponsor FedEx calls for a name change - July 2, 2020
We demand:
• Drop the name of the Washington NFL Team
• Drop the racist logo
• End all racist practices, songs, and merchandise
• Include Native leaders and organizations in the discussion of the future of the team name and image
Why is this important?
The name of the Washington team is defined as racial slur going back to at least 1898 printing of Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. But the possibility of a name change is finally within view.
American Indian people and tribes have repeatedly called on the team to change the name for decades. Despite a claim that the team name “honors” indigenous people, the name itself is derogatory and comes to front the practice of collecting a bounty for “red skins” or scalps of Native men, women, and children murdered as part of this country’s history of genocide.
The traditions of the team and its fans also reveal the racist nature of the name. The team’s logo is a racist caricature and the team fight song calls the players “Braves on the Warpath!” all calling up stereotypes of Indian “savages.”
And some of the fans of the Washington team take the continuation of the name as permission to dress in costumes mocking and imitating Native people. The team name, its logo, all of these traditions are dehumanizing and perpetuate racism.
According to a new UC Berkeley study,
• 65% of Native Youth 18-24 year-olds found the Washington team name offensive.
• 57% of people who feel highly connected to being Native American are offended by the Washington NFL team name.
• Native American mascots cause higher rates of depression, suicide ideation, self-harm, and substance abuse in Native youth, and increased discrimination in schools against Native students.
It’s clear. It is time for the Washington NFL team to #ChangeTheName and end its racist images and practices.
