Larry French
The time has finally come where organizations are holding themselves accountable and rethinking a lot of their previous decisions. The Washington Football Team has decided to retire their name and logo, as many sponsors indicated a need for change. As a result, the NFL and management started a process of review over this issue.
“On July 3rd, we announced the commencement of a thorough review of the team’s name. That review has begun in earnest. As a part of this process, we want to keep our sponsors, fans and community apprised of our thinking as we go forward” says the team in a statement.
For the longest time, many wondered how the Washington Football Team got away with its logo and name being quite offensive to the Native American culture. Many people have been questioning the use of the name and image since the late 1960s and has been receiving public attention since then. The term “redskin” has been offensive to many as they define it as a racist term. Natives often use the term skins to describe one another. This is quite similar to the n-word in the black community, but not every Native person uses this word. With Washington, DC being the nations capitol, it’s just too messy and it’s a joy to finally see change happening.
Over a dozen Native American leaders and organizations wrote the NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell last week demanding an immediate end to the Washington’s use of the name. The world is truly seeking justice in all ways and to see #FedEx , #Nike , #Pepsi and #BankofAmerica stand together to fight for this change really says a lot about the work we have to do in this country. We will update the site with more details as they come.
