The RGIII craze is sweeping the nation and is finally bringing some good headlines to a team that usually only makes news for it's erratic ownership by Dan Snyder. It's not all good in D.C., though. The Washington National Football League team have come under fire recently as The Kansas City Star has stated that they will no longer use the term "Redskins" in reference to the NFL team. Another publication, The Washington City Paper, has also joined the protest. They have replaced the offensive term with "Pigskins" as was decided by a poll given to its readers. Many are simply aware of the history and relevance of this abhorrent nickname. "Redskins" alludes to the time not entirely long ago, when White settlers issued bounties on the heads of the Native Americans. The "trappers" as they were called, would slaughter Native Americans and bring their scalps as well as other skins of animals they had trapped. The trappers would bring them to the trading post owner in exchange for currency or goods. Eventually, the Christian women became offended by the term "scalp" and they asked for another way to describe them (how's that for irony?). The trappers then adopted the term "redskin" This was due to the scalp being bloody, and because it was the skin of an animal like the others they collected. Now...isn't that alot better than "scalps"?
The Washington NFL team first used this nickname in 1933 when owner, George Preston Marshall, supposedly honored head coach William Henry "Lone Star" Dietz who was Native American. Only problem with this is that Marshall was a noted racist and strongly defied the integration of the NFL and even had to be explicitly told by John F. Kennedy to hire black players and threatened him with eviction from his stadium. This establishes a precedence of racism within this team's tradition and ownership so it is difficult to see this continued use of the nickname as anything other than blatant disregard and overt disrespect towards Native Americans in this country.
The buck doesn't stop there...there are other professional teams that profit off of the mockery of other races and cultures:
- The Atlanta Braves
The nickname isn't so much offensive as is the team and fan culture is that surrounds it. The logo is a tomahawk, an axe used by Native Americans, and the team employs something called the "Tomahawk Chop" where one raises their arm straight up and down. This is used as a rallying cry to lead the team into victory. Just kinda not cool drumming up memories of the widespread murdering and declared war on Native Americans for the purposes of a baseball team. Change the team name and logo or work out some arrangement with Native Americans so that they don't feel further humiliated by Whites in this country.
- The Cleveland Indians
Wait, how did this logo get approved? How did this nickname get approved? How did the combination of the team name and logo get approved? Really? Someone is either really dumb, or just really racist. "Indians" is an inaccurate name given to describe Native Americans by misguided sailors. And it just stuck. Never has their been a more widely accepted mistake such as Christopher Columbus "discovering" America and the deeming of Native American Peoples as Indians. Have you seen this logo? Why not nickname a team the "Sambos" and use a huge Black face with watermelon-red lips as a logo?
Take a look online at some message boards or if you're a gamer, turn on your headset. Many believe that the moment President Obama took office, racism died in this country. My friends, the raging fire that is racism is alive and well with reinvigorated embers. I suppose it's no mystery how professional sports can be advocates of such disgusting behavior. I, too, join the protest and refuse to refer to these teams by their offensive nicknames. I think more publications need to step forth and do the same. Only when there is a threat of significant revenue loss to these billionaires will there be any sort of change. Just look at good ol' boy George Preston Marshall...if JFK hadn't intervened to remove him from his stadium, perhaps RGIII wouldn't be breaking off 70 yard touchdown runs in our nations capital. How telling of our country that at the central hub of all of our legislation, where the rights and protection of our citizens are in the hands of our government representatives - the greatest oversight of racial sensitivity exists.
No comments:
Post a Comment