You'll never convince me anyone is truly offended. Just lots of PC wannabes hopping on the "just cause" bandwagon. Too bad they don't express as much concern for the Sh!t that actually matters in this world like: hunger, poverty, disease, illiteracy, violence, energy, and jobs (just to name a few).
Yeah I guess all these organizations and individuals should just sit down and shut up as you obviously know so much more about this issue and who is really behind it.
In current dictionaries of American English, the word “redskins†is classified as "usually offensive", "disparaging", "insulting", and "taboo". The usage section of the definition of "redskin" in the Oxford English Dictionary states that through the process of pejoration, the originally neutral term acquired an unfavorable connotation and became a term of disparagement. It is generally avoided in public usage except by sports teams.
Although often assumed to be a debate of recent origins, the local Washington, DC newspapers have published news items on the controversy many times
since at least 1971, all in response to Native American individuals or organizations asking for the name to be changed.
There was a protest at the 1992 Super Bowl between the Redskins and the Buffalo Bills held in Minnesota, and many Native Americans from the region came out to protest the name. The American Indian Movement's (AIM)
Vernon Bellecourt was one of the main organizers of the protest.
Those officially censuring and/or demanding the name be changed include 23 Native American tribes and more than 50 organizations that represent various groups of Native Americans.
The Anti-Defamation League was one of the organizations signing a letter to broadcasters urging them to avoid using the name.
In a meeting March 1, 2014, the
Board of Directors of the Central Atlantic Conference of the United Church of Christ (UCC) unanimously passed a resolution proposing that its members boycott Washington Redskins games and shun products bearing the team’s logo until the team changes its name and mascot.
Rev. Graylan Hagler, pastor of the Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ in Washington, DC has spoken against the Redskins name for 20 years.
In 1992, the
Central Conference of American Rabbis issued a resolution calling for the end of sports teams names that promote racism, in particular the Atlanta Braves and the Washington Redskins.
In 2013 a group of sixty-one religious leaders in Washington, D.C. sent a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and team owner Dan Snyder stating their moral obligation to join the Change the Mascot movement due to the offensive and inappropriate nature of the name which causes pain whether or not that is intended.
On June 18, 2014, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) again voted to cancel the Redskins federal trademark registrations, considering them "disparaging to Native Americans" The trademarks were granted in 1967, so the primary factors were:
1. that the term "redskin" refers to Native Americans (rather than having an "independent meaning" as the team sometimes claims)
2. that the use of the term is disparaging or pejorative to a "substantial composite" of Native Americans during the period beginning in 1967.
The University of Minnesota has asked the Minnesota Vikings to keep the Washington team's name from being used in printed materials or uttered by the game announcer at the school’s stadium in Minneapolis where the Vikings are playing while their stadium is under construction. University President Eric Kaler has stated that the Redskins name is “offensive and should be replaced.
Charles Krauthammer, political columnist, wrote that unlike other examples of "the language police" he dislikes, use of the term redskins has become a pejorative and that the name should be changed.
Bob Costas, (NBC Sports): Redskins’ name was “undeniably†a slur. He also states that opposition to the name is not "political correctness run amok" given the definitions of redskin in modern dictionaries as offensive, unlike any other word associated with Native Americans such as Chiefs or Warriors.
Tony Dungy, former NFL coach and current NBC analyst: "A couple of weeks ago, someone asked Dungy in the NBC viewing room when the name should change. 'Fifteen years ago,' Dungy said." He also says he will no longer use the name on-air.
Mike Holmgren, president of the Cleveland Browns, stated in an interview that the name should absolutely change.
New York Knicks president
Phil Jackson: "The use of the name Redskins is highly offensive."
Mark Murphy CEO of the Green Bay Packers and former Redskins player: [nickname is] "derogatory to a lot of people".
Champ Bailey, a former Redskins player, said that "When you hear a Native American say that 'Redskins' is degrading, it's almost like the N-word for a black person. If they feel that way, then it's not right. They are part of this country. It's degrading to a certain race. Does it make sense to have the name?"
Peter King, (Sports Illustrated): "I can do my job without using "Redskins", and I will."
