How do you change a team’s name without completely erasing the history that it holds? Can you hold onto those memories if both the name and the mascot are different down the road?
Those are some of the questions that Dan Snyder and Ron Rivera and likely asking themselves right now when it comes to the Washington ________. While it seems apparent that ‘Redskins’ is out, something else needs to step in. But what exactly?
For one former Washington player, cornerback Fred Smoot, the leading candidate is the Washington Warriors, simply because it would make it so that only a name change is necessary, and the logo could remain. He said as much when talking to NBC Sports Washington.
“Me, in my head, Warriors is the one that sticks out the most. I think it’s an easy transition. There are no Warriors in the NFL. It’s already a mascot for Golden State, and they’ve gotten no pushback on it. At the end of the day, besides Warriors, I know Redtails is up there. But [Synder] said something that stuck out to me: he wants to keep the logo and acknowledge Native Americans, give them something that they’re proud of. So that tells me that it won’t be Redtails.”
Many believe that switching away from the current Redskins name will be enough to appease those who find the name racist and insensitive. Others will undoubtedly claim that the use of a Native American Chief as a logo will still be a step too far.
No.
Using Native people as a prop and as a costume isn’t honor. If you want to honor us, listen:
WE 👏🏽 ARE 👏🏽 NOT 👏🏽YOUR 👏🏽MASCOT 👏🏽#NotYourMascot #TheTimeIsNow https://t.co/SvlXdJfaE4
— @_IllumiNatives (@_IllumiNatives) July 5, 2020
In the end, it will be interesting to see how important that logo is to Snyder and Rivera, and whether or not it will greatly impact their decision when making the final call.
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