Washington Redskins name: Washington Post poll finds most D.C. area fans support it
By Jon Cohen and Rick Maese,June 25, 2013
A large majority of area sports fans say the Washington Redskins should not change the team name, even though most supporters of the nickname feel the word “redskin” is an inappropriate term for Native Americans, according to a new Washington Post poll.
The debate over the team’s name has intensified in recent months as members of Congress, activists and media commentators criticized it as offensive to Native Americans and lobbied for change. But most Washingtonians — 61 percent — say they like the team’s name, and two-thirds say the team should not change it, according to the poll.
Among Redskins fans, about eight in 10 say the team should keep its name. Also, there’s some evidence that changing it might undermine support from some of the team’s most ardent backers.
“It’s been associated with the team for so long, I just don’t see any reason to change it now,” said retiree Joseph Braceland, 70. “It was not meant to be derogatory.”
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-06-25/sports/40172941_1_native-americans-name-change-washington-redskins
Now if 8 out of 10 fans wanted to change the name, the owner would probably comply. If not, a high percentage of the fans could boycott or even picket the games until the name was changed.
But at this time it is possible that many fans would decided no longer support the team if the name was changed. Eventually they would return but they could reduce profits for a couple of years.
I personally agree that "Redskins" is a derogatory name and that no professional sports team would be given that name today. Therefore, I support changing the name.
However I will point out that I can't think of a sports team that was purposely given a degrading name. Many teams are named Lions, Eagles or Mustangs but how many are named Cockroaches, Chickens or Snails? My favorite team's name, the Pittsburgh Steelers, was chosen by the residents of Pittsburgh as the winner in a poll ran by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 1940. It reflects the pride Pittsburgh had in its steel industry and the local workers in that industry.
I'm sure that the name was originally given to the team to reflect the bravery, courage and fighting spirit of native Americans. It is also possible that the team's name honors the coach William Henry "Lone Star" Dietz.
William Henry Dietz
William Henry "Lone Star" Dietz (August 17, 1884 – July 20, 1964) was an American football player and coach. In 2012 he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. He served as the head football coach at Washington State University (1915–1917), Purdue University (1921), Louisiana Tech University (1922–1923), University of Wyoming (1924–1926), and Albright College (1937–1942) compiling a career college football record of 70–47–6. From 1933 to 1934, Dietz was the head coach of the National Football League's Boston Redskins, where he tallied a mark of 11–11–2.
Dietz’s true identity remains highly controversial. Although he is recognized as an "Indian athlete" by Dan Snyder, owner of the Washington Redskins, Indian Country Today Media Network ran a series of articles in 2004 exposing Dietz as a white man masquerading as an Indian.[1] In 1988, the National Congress of American Indians attempted to meet and discuss the issue with the team’s former owner, Jack Kent Cooke, but Cooke refused a meeting.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lone_Star_Dietz
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