...you change the mascot from this
to this...
Owner George Preston Marshall changed the name to the "Redskins" apparently in honor of then-coach Lone Star Dietz, ("Birth of the Washington Redskins". USA Today. 1999-07-12) a Native American (he claimed to be part Sioux). There's a lot of controversy around Dietz's actual ancestry. A 1933 Washington Post news article quotes Marshall as saying that he did not name the team in honor of Dietz. (I thought I smelled Bullshit.)
to this...
Where the naming of teams started is unclear. Athletic teams have long used colors and nicknames as a form of team identity. This echoes the use of colors and nicknames in other activities such as heraldry, the military, and the flags of nations. The first openly all-professional team was the Cincinnati Red Stockings, an amateur team that turned professional and began a successful barnstorming tour in 1869. (Wikipedia)
From Wikipedia, I found a list of baseball teams throughout the years. Many were named after uniform colors (Red Sox, White Sox, Grays, Blues, Red Stockings, etc.). The NL went so far to pass a rule where each team had to have a different color stockings to tell them apart. This evolved to the color naming of teams. Other team names evolved from the media. Sportswriters would invent names that resembled the characteristics of the city to make them more unique, etc. (Beaneaters = Boston, Spiders = Cleveland, Giants = New York).
The most interesting one is the Brooklyn Dodgers. Originally referred to as the Trolley Dodgers coined in 1895, the name was shortened to Dodgers shortly after. The name, "Trolley Dodgers," referred to the dangers posed by trolley cars in Brooklyn, generally, which had recently (beginning in 1902) been switched from horse-power to the much faster, and more dangerous, electrical power. ("Dodgers Timeline". Los Angeles Dodgers)
When more than one team in a sport from two leagues were in the same city, sportswriters appended the league name. The Boston Nationals (later Braves) and Boston Americans (later Red Sox). Sometimes these names evolved into the team's name.
In 1908 the Boston American League team adopted the color red and the name Red Sox. The Boston National League team reverted to their red trim color and sought a new name. They found this name in 1912.
"The nickname of Braves was first given the club at the suggestion of John Montgomery Ward. James Gaffney, who became president of Boston's National League franchise in 1911, was a member of Tammany Hall, the Democratic Party machine that controlled New York City politics throughout the 19th century. The Tammany name was derived from Tammamend, a Delaware Valley Indian chief. The society adopted an Indian headdress as its emblem and its members became known as Braves. Sportswriter Leonard Koppett described Gaffney's decision to rename his team, which had been known as the Doves, in a 1993 letter to the New York Times: "Wouldn't it be neat to call the team the 'Braves,' waving this symbol of the Democrats under the aristocratic Bostonians? It wouldn't bother the fans." And it didn't, especially after the Braves swept the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1914 World Series. (Mentalfloss.com)
However, even back then some people found the Braves connotation disrespectful of the Native Americans. Nothing was done because it was still a "White" man's world. Cleveland on a lesser degree has had similar issues with the Indians name and their mascot, Chief Wahoo. The team name was derived more to honor the Native American culture that was prevalent in that part of the country. Let's face it. We have described these native peoples incorrectly for three-four centuries. The change is going to be slow. According to some sports writings, legend has it that the team honored Louis Sockalexis when it assumed its current name in 1915. Possibly. Who knows.
It's clear how the Washington football team got its name. The team originated in Boston in 1932 where they, like the baseball team, were named the Braves. The baseball team eventually moved to Milwaukee (1953) and finally to Atlanta (1966). The football Braves moved to Fenway Park (1912) and changed their name to the Redskins in 1934 and when they moved to Washington in 1937 kept the name.
So the Braves name notwithstanding, why and how the Redskins?
If it was meant as a tongue-in-cheek joke, it's in very bad taste. It was not. However, when I reveal the answer, it'll make you wonder about how insensitive 1930s Americans, at least big business types, were to non-white persons.
The answer:
Marshall explains, he gave up “Braves” to avoid confusion with a Boston professional baseball team of the same name. He apparently picked the Redskins name so he could keep the existing Native American logo. (Robert McCartney, Washington Post)
Oh, I get it. It was all about branding. Can you believe that? I could. Sports have never been about pride, national community or fair play and good sportsmanship. It has always been about entertainment. The bottom line. It has always been about the Benjamins. Look how much a football game costs these days. No, really. Go on look it up on Stub Hub. I'll wait. All I know is I can't afford one ticket. It's either go to a game or eat for the next two to three weeks.
Not only was the name change because of keeping the Indian brand, but he moved the team from the Braves ballpark to save money and decided to try to tie into the Red Sox name and fan base. Red Sox. Redskins. Well shit, why didn't you say so. We are talking about making money. That's perfectly acceptable. Hell, they're not people anyway, right? They're just some damn injuns. Fucking rich assholes.
Of the 32 teams in the NFL, Washington is the only team that has a nickname that has a racial connotation. I've never been much to jump on any bandwagon for any cause. In general, I think everyone should be treated the way you would want to be treated. Hopefully that would be with respect for your culture, race, creed and all that other good stuff that comes together to make you the you that you are. I should run for office.
Here now, I agree and applaud what the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office did. They hit 'em like in Football, not below the belt, but in the belt. The Wallet Belt, that is. (Remember those things. Lame!) If change can't be made through a social conscience then we will drag Snyder and his cronies into the 21st Century by their "money" straps. (An invention I'm thinking of creating.) Take away their trademarks and patents and away we go with the souvenir market being flooded with unauthorized and unsanctioned trinkets of which Snyder and his stockholders get Zero Dollars. It's truly a step in the direction to forcing that organization to do the right thing.
So...to the right thing...a new name.
In an AP online posting D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray stated, "I am a huge fan of the Washington football team, and I am also a huge fan of changing the name of the Washington football team. This is yet another step in that direction."
Well, with a ringing endorsement from the local government I'm on board.
So, as I'm an Eagles fan, I've thought up a few names. I like Ass Clowns. Or maybe, Rich Insensitive Pale Faces. Or maybe, Fucktards. The Washington Fucktards. It describes the general political environment in Washington as well as the Football Team's owner. Yeah, that's the ticket. And this guy can be the team mascot.
King of the Fucktards
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