NFL 2020/21 Thread - Welcome back!

The Washington Redskins American football team has said it will retire its name, long criticised as racist.

In a statement, the team said it would "be retiring the Redskins name and logo upon completion of a review" demanded by its sponsors.
Its major sponsors recently threatened to pull funding from the NFL team unless it considered renaming itself.

The Washington DC-based team has faced years of pressure over a name seen as offensive to Native Americans.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-53390944

According to a woman on Facebollocks they’re going to rebrand as the Washington Foreskins. Can confirm?

Wash Foreskins for life!

The Washington Largers - Touchdowns + Stuff

The Washington Redtails is the front runner apparently according to Bob Costas on CNN.

I’ve heard Red Wolves as well.

Is there not another non offensive name that could be used to keep their links to native Americans? Or is the general feeling from the Native American population that they want all reference gone?

I heard earlier today that a few other sports teams are under pressure to change theirs. Chicago Blackhawks, kansas city chiefs etc

Return_of_the_STAR wrote:Is there not another non offensive name that could be used to keep their links to native Americans? Or is the general feeling from the Native American population that they want all reference gone?

I heard earlier today that a few other sports teams are under pressure to change theirs. Chicago Blackhawks, kansas city chiefs etc

Yeah it does seem to be a very sensitive topic, even the Warriors are under pressure to review their name despite not using any native American iconography that Im aware of. I always thought the Blackhawks were ok as they had the blessing of the Blackhawk tribe, though I could be wrong on that. The Florida State Seminoles do have the blessing of Seminole Nation in Florida but apparently theyre not the real Seminole Nation who are based in Oklahoma so thats a whole other mess. Exeter Chiefs are being roped into it as well, Id like to see them get out in front of this and just bail on the name and go with Exeter but they wont, theyll dig their heels in and hope to ride it out.

It will be interesting to see if this has a domino effect on other Native style names, I know a lot of high schools and smaller colleges have started to move away from those kinds of names, Washington finally changing their name could be the catalyst for major name changes over there. A lot of them may sound stupid but MLS using euro style team names is looking more and more like a smart move in the long run.

Rax wrote:

Return_of_the_STAR wrote:Is there not another non offensive name that could be used to keep their links to native Americans? Or is the general feeling from the Native American population that they want all reference gone?

I heard earlier today that a few other sports teams are under pressure to change theirs. Chicago Blackhawks, kansas city chiefs etc

Yeah it does seem to be a very sensitive topic, even the Warriors are under pressure to review their name despite not using any native American iconography that Im aware of. I always thought the Blackhawks were ok as they had the blessing of the Blackhawk tribe, though I could be wrong on that. The Florida State Seminoles do have the blessing of Seminole Nation in Florida but apparently theyre not the real Seminole Nation who are based in Oklahoma so thats a whole other mess. Exeter Chiefs are being roped into it as well, Id like to see them get out in front of this and just bail on the name and go with Exeter but they wont, theyll dig their heels in and hope to ride it out.

It will be interesting to see if this has a domino effect on other Native style names, I know a lot of high schools and smaller colleges have started to move away from those kinds of names, Washington finally changing their name could be the catalyst for major name changes over there. A lot of them may sound stupid but MLS using euro style team names is looking more and more like a smart move in the long run.

What’s confused me on this is I thought the issue with the redskins was that it was seen as offensive to native Americans because ‘redskin’ is used as a derogatory term towards them. So I assumed names that pay homage to particular tribes or the term ‘chiefs’ for example wouldn’t be an issue as they are only being used in a positive manner. Is it a split issue though were it’s just a vocal group calling for the changes whilst the majority of Native Americans are actually okay with it?

Return_of_the_STAR wrote:

Rax wrote:

Return_of_the_STAR wrote:Is there not another non offensive name that could be used to keep their links to native Americans? Or is the general feeling from the Native American population that they want all reference gone?

I heard earlier today that a few other sports teams are under pressure to change theirs. Chicago Blackhawks, kansas city chiefs etc

Yeah it does seem to be a very sensitive topic, even the Warriors are under pressure to review their name despite not using any native American iconography that Im aware of. I always thought the Blackhawks were ok as they had the blessing of the Blackhawk tribe, though I could be wrong on that. The Florida State Seminoles do have the blessing of Seminole Nation in Florida but apparently theyre not the real Seminole Nation who are based in Oklahoma so thats a whole other mess. Exeter Chiefs are being roped into it as well, Id like to see them get out in front of this and just bail on the name and go with Exeter but they wont, theyll dig their heels in and hope to ride it out.

It will be interesting to see if this has a domino effect on other Native style names, I know a lot of high schools and smaller colleges have started to move away from those kinds of names, Washington finally changing their name could be the catalyst for major name changes over there. A lot of them may sound stupid but MLS using euro style team names is looking more and more like a smart move in the long run.

What’s confused me on this is I thought the issue with the redskins was that it was seen as offensive to native Americans because ‘redskin’ is used as a derogatory term towards them. So I assumed names that pay homage to particular tribes or the term ‘chiefs’ for example wouldn’t be an issue as they are only being used in a positive manner. Is it a split issue though were it’s just a vocal group calling for the changes whilst the majority of Native Americans are actually okay with it?

I’ve been educating myself, this is quite a good article

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/31/learning/is-it-offensive-for-sports-teams-and-their-fans-to-use-native-american-names-imagery-and-gestures.html

Yeah thats the crux of it really, I dont think the fans do the chop or anything like it to be offensive or to demean the Native American community, I think they do it because its how they cheer for their team, the same as the Gators chomp or the Saints "Who Dat" or whatever. If it is something thats offensive to Native Americans then it should be looked at but as the article mentions its up to the team to be that change and come up with an alternative. Fans just want to celebrate their team and dressing up, whooping, etc are just part of that, its up to the team to discourage and educate the fans if they want to keep the name and association.

I think the Chiefs’ issue is more the iconography used than the name specifically, isn’t it?

The name is an issue as well but less so than the chant and the chop that the crowd do. The name isnt immediately obvious as a problem but I think theres an issue there when chief is so closely associated with Native American tribes. As with all of this stuff it boils down to how the Native American tribes were, and to some extent still are, treated by white Americans and the established government.

So it’s the ‘Washington Football Team’. Is this a temporary name? Just doesn’t seem right.

Yeah its temporary until the team can figure out a proper name. Im guessing they want to take their time and get it right, its still gonna be super weird to hear everyone just referring to them as Washington Football Team. I have seen suggestions they should just call themselves Washington Football Club or DC FC to get away from the mascot thing entirely.

WASHINGTON CHRISTIAN PATRIOTS USA USA

Washington Immigrants

Chiefs 31-20 Texans last night.

So the NFL is back this weekend!

Does anybody want to take over the thread?

Jaguars beat Colts 27-20.

People saying they are gonna tank this year.

Vikings did their usual against Green Bay, it's very frustrating.

3 wins on the spin for the Titans