If you didn't read the NFL Roundup from Friday, you may have missed that the Redskins won their federal challenge to the Trademark Office's decision to cancel the Redskins' trademark as racially derogatory. The District and Circuit Courts for D.C. both cited "laches", the equitable concept that prevents defendants from being prejudiced by suits brought long after they could have been.
It ain't over yet.
The Native American group, led by Susan Harjo, heading the fight against the slur is considering a new strategy. Redskins owner Daniel Snyder has just bought a group of radio stations through his Red Zebra Broadcasting group. That means he has to obtain new FCC licenses for the stations. That means he needs FCC approval. That means this is the first possible opportunity the Native American group has to challenge the anticipated daily use of the epithet on the airwaves. That means the laches defense that has been so successful for Snyder in the courts is not going to be an option.
Danny Snyder Little Napoleon
They're going to challenge it, and they're very likely to win. Imagine Snyder's furor when the FCC tells him his licenses are approved, with the minor caveat that he can't use the word "Redskins" on "Redskins Radio". Oops.
Ironically, who knows better than Snyder what it's like to feel bad every time you turn on the radio. I mean, isn't that why he bought WTEM, SportsTalk 980, in the first place, canning just about everyone?
Snyder, who obtained the rights to "Washington Warriors" when the Redskins' trademark was first temporarily cancelled, will have a difficult decision to make. Does he take a monster loss on his newly acquired radio stations, or does he finally cave and change the team's name to protect his other investment? Snyder would be caught between a small garden gnome and a hard place.
Stay tuned...just not to [expletive deleted] Radio.
7 Responses:
I guess I don't see how the name Redskins is racially charged. It's not like they are calling Native Americans Redskins, it's just the name of the team. If the Yankees can be the Yankees I don't see why the Redskins can't be the Skins.
We still have Negroe league nights at minor league baseball games...
But maybe I'm just missing something.
J-Red: Washington Football Radio
Nic: I'll let you J-Red answer your question. I'm pretty sure I'll agree with what he says intellectually. However, I love the Redskins.
This has been rehashed many times, but I'll try to keep it brief. The word "Redskin" is the N word for Native Americans. Of course, it is silly to try to equate slurs across races, but that's the best approximation.
The Redskins franchise has a history of racism, including being the last team to integrate, and only then under threat of eviction from RFK Stadium.
It doesn't help that the Redskins have African-American men dressed in stereotypical Native American garb mixed with Charlie Brown's shirt dancing on the field like idiots during commercial breaks.
Some people, primarily Redskins fans, put forth the following argument to defend the name: More people recognize the word Redskin to denote a football team, not a racial slur. This might be true, but all that matters is that Native Americans recognize it as a slur. The fact that there aren't very many Native Americans is irrelevant. Just because there aren't a lot of black people in New Hampshire, you still wouldn't stand for them calling their team the Nashua N******.
The Negro League nights at minor league and major league parks are completely different, because those are meant to honor those players and the league's history. This is the same concept that makes me comfortable with the Florida State Seminoles and Illini. They strive to honor the Native Americans, rather than use them for some corny theme.
In the mid-1800s newspapers advertised the new policy for collecting bounty on dead Indians. No longer would they have to bring in the entire dead Indian (imagine how tired they must have been those poor bounty hunters) Now they could simply scalp their bounty and get paid for every "redskin" they brought in. $60 for an adult male, $40 for an adult female, $20 for dead Indian kids (either gender).
That's why we're not too fond of the term.
J-Red, you do realize the Fighting Illini had to do away with Illiniwek...the logo, the dance, the mascot...
Fighting Illini now means Fighting People of Illinois.
Apparently, the tribe did not feel too honored by the tribute.
I thought the Illini were able to keep everything. I guess I paid too much attention to Utah and Florida State and assumed Illinois won too.
The problem isn't the team name; it's the logo that goes with it. Changing from the image of a native American to one of the redskin potato would solve everything. After all, for several seasons (the current one being a major exception) Snider's team played like a sack of potatoes.
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