FanPost

That Team in D.C.

I don't know if anyone else saw this story, but if there's an award for "doing the right thing," I would nominate the Quechan Tribe, along with a tribal nonprofit group, for this year's prize.

Representatives of a foundation established by Washington "Redskins" owner Dan Snyder traveled to the Fort Yuma reservation (on the California-Arizona border) to offer financial help, and tribal leaders said thanks, but no thanks.

"No, we're not going to accept any kind of monetary offer to side with allowing them to utilize the inappropriate name for this NFL team," tribal president Keeny Escalanti Sr. said.

Kenrick Escalanti, president of Kwatsan Media Inc., said, "The sacrifice we took to say 'no' wasn't an easy one. We wish we could help the kids today by taking the partnership. We're trying to teach our community and the youth that we can do things the right way. We don't have to accept this type of money from these people."

The "Redskins," of course, say the purpose of the Original Americans Foundation is to help the Indian people. Cynics - and I'm among them - think Snyder's foundation wants to improve the team's image, given what many say is the indefensible use of their nickname. (FWIW, any time I use this team's nickname I'm going to put it in quotes.)

Coincidentally, I'm writing this post on the same day that actor James Garner died. And more to the point, I have as much disdain for Dan Snyder as I have admiration for Mr. Garner, whose grandfather was a Cherokee. But back to one of my least favorite teams in any professional sport (the Cleveland "Indians" being the other), here's an incomplete account of a few writers and publishers who have decided not to use the word "Redskins":

Writing last year on the Monday Morning Quarterback website, Peter King said he decided to stop using the word in writing about the Washington team. (It's the second item in the linked post.) Also last year, the San Francisco Chronicle decided it would no longer use the word. The Chron's managing editor, Audrey Cooper, said, "Our longstanding policy is to not use racial slurs - and make no mistake, 'redskin' is a slur." The New York Times editorial board weighed in as well.

Mr. Snyder's allies sometimes point to the other ways references to Indians are used in the marketplace. True enough, but so what? I read of countless crimes in my daily newspaper. Does that make the next one any more justified?

It's hard to believe, but maybe Dan Snyder and his supporters don't realize how slippery this slope is. If we're going to use physical characteristics or the names of ethnic groups for team mascots, there are any number of possibilities.

The great Irish poet William Butler Yeats began his poem The Magi with these words: "Now as at all times I can see in the mind's eye." So maybe it's possible to use that perspective in summing up what it means to call a professional sports team the "Redskins" or the "Indians" in today's America.

Using "rivers" as a metaphor, I would suggest this country's history promises a confluence of rivers, each contributing in its own way, and each journeying at night under a canopy of stars. I can't imagine how Dan Snyder's vision fits in such a context.



This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

Trending Discussions