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Mark Madden: It's long past time for Washington football franchise to find new moniker

Mark Madden
| Friday, July 3, 2020 11:01 a.m.
AP
Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder walks onto the field before an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2018, in Landover, Md.

Of all the Native American names and imagery that have permeated American sports since they began, a few have stood out as undeniably offensive.

Chief Wahoo, the Cleveland Indians’ idiotically grinning mascot, got retired in 2018.

Now it’s time to do the same with the name of the NFL’s Washington Redskins. (That name will be used once in this column, and only for clarity’s sake.)

FedEx thinks so and requested so. FedEx paid $205 million for the naming rights to the team’s stadium. That agreement runs through 2025. FedEx chairman/CEO/president Frederick Smith owns a minority stake in the franchise.

Investment firms and shareholders in FedEx, Nike and Pepsi have asked those companies to sever ties with the team barring a name change. Those firms and shareholders represent $620 billion. (No word on how those firms and shareholders feel about Nike’s sweatshops.)

Nike has removed all of the team’s gear from its online store.

FedEx Field is located in Landover, Md. Its lease expires in 2027. Team owner Dan Snyder would like to relocate to D.C. proper at that time but has been told that move will be blocked if the team continues to use its current name.

Snyder appears to have no choice but to find a new moniker.

But he does have a choice. Billionaires always do.

Snyder, who is worth $2.6 billion, was a boyhood fan of the team and revels in its history. He has been opposed to changing the name, and cites a 2016 Washington Post poll in which nine of 10 Native Americans said they didn’t find the name offensive. A 2004 poll conducted by the University of Pennsylvania showed similar.

Those results are inexplicable, perhaps the sad product of a people being beaten down for generations and forced to accept what they’re given.

They also don’t matter. Not anymore.

On Friday, team officials announced they are undergoing a thorough review of the team’s name.

Snyder must change the name. If the demands of FedEx, Nike and Pepsi don’t do the trick, then NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has to ask.

But Goodell shouldn’t ask. Snyder shouldn’t be given a choice. Erase the billionaire’s prerogative. Snyder owns the team, but Goodell runs the league. Go to court if need be.

This simply shouldn’t be that difficult. It’s a terribly offensive name. Decency overrides tradition, Snyder’s fanboy childhood and yes, even his money.

Snyder should be allowed no half-measures. One online notion moots changing the name to “Warriors” but maintaining much of the same imagery: Spears, feathers, etc.

No dice. That’s not good enough. No winking at the racist past.

It’s surprising Snyder’s greed hasn’t kicked in. Renaming and rebranding would create millions in merchandise sales.

Fans will threaten to walk away because of the name change, but they won’t. That’s often threatened, but it’s always a bluff. We heard that trash when Colin Kaepernick took a knee, but any downturn for the NFL was temporary and insignificant. A mere hiccup.

Snyder bleats on about tradition. But changing the name won’t erase the team’s three Super Bowl wins or the legacies of Joe Gibbs, Sammy Baugh, John Riggins and “the Hogs.” It might actually sharpen the legacy of Doug Williams, the first Black quarterback to win a Super Bowl. That man shouldn’t be identified with a team that uses that name.

Not all tradition is proud. The misguided tradition of the Confederacy is finally being eradicated. The same must be done with Washington’s team name. It’s long overdue.

Snyder probably isn’t a racist. He just wants to keep living his childhood. But when Snyder talks about “historical truths,” he needs to understand those go far beyond football, and they’re not flattering when it comes to his team’s name.

Washington hasn’t made the playoffs in four seasons and hasn’t won a postseason game since 2005. That team needs a fresh start at many levels.

Call the team the Sentinels. Shane Falco, represent! You know what separates the winners from the losers? The score.


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