History of Organization and Name
Originally named the Boston Braves, the Washington Redskins remain known for their legacy and team history. Under the ownership of George Person Marshall, Vincent Bendix, Jay O’Brien and Dorland Dolye, the Boston Braves were born as part of the NFL franchise in 1932. Shortly after in 1933, they renamed the Boston Redskins, followed by another name change when they reestablished in Washington D.C as the Washington Redskins in 1937; and made the Griffith Stadium their new home.
Over the decades, the professional football team obtained a number of NFL championship titles such as their Super Bowl victories in 1983, 1988, and 1992. The Redskins became highly recognized and attracted a new fan base throughout the country by creating their own radio and television network in 1944 and 1950. They also stay notorious for their magnificent marching band that entertains fans in the stadium by performing the team’s fight songs such as, “Hail to the Redskins.”
Their most successful head coach, Joe Gibbs took over in 1981 and after an 11 year break returned in 2003. Under Gibbs leadership, the Redskins won a number of championships and received the NFC title over the Cowboys, one of the greatest highlights in Gibbs career as head coach.
Name Controversy
In recent years, the Redskins have faced controversy for their name as, racial and derogatory toward the Native American culture. Local Native American tribes feel that the name “Redskins” is a racial slur directed towards their ethnicity when they were forced to quit practicing their traditions and cultures. Although the Redskins have had their name for the last 81 years, during the last decade Native American tribes and Congress have expressed the need to ...
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...ed in voting would fill out their basic information along with an email address to allow them to vote only once in the poll. After one email address is registered to the site, it will not allow the same email address to vote. As we discussed in the strategy, those who register and vote are randomly entered in giveaways, as well as automatically receiving a 10% off coupon for the official store for exclusive Redskins merchandise and apparel.
Recap
Through this campaign we are expecting to raise acceptance and awareness to the Redskins brand. This fan interactive voting promotion are building blocks to enhance the team’s brand identity in hopes of having a team name that is locally and nationally accepted. In addition to national acceptance, we are anticipating merchandise and apparel to increase by 10% and overall get new and loyal fans revamped about the Redskins.
Fighting the use of the word ‘redskins’” by Brian Cladoosby says how “[s]tudies show the use of American Indian-based names, mascots and logos in sports has a negative psychological effect on Native peoples” Cladoosby places a link to Dr. Michael A. Friedman research report which backs his case. In his study Dr. Friedman, a clinical psychologist says how Redskins is “uniquely destructive” because it “perpetuates the stereotypical and outdated caricature” and “promotes and justifies the use of a dictionary-defined racial slur, thus increasing risk for discriminatory”. With the rate of Native American suicide one of the highest in the nation the addition of their culture and history being stereotyped young Natives are facing discrimination and then being told that it’s okay because it’s for a sport. Cladoosby adds how that it creates a challenge to Natives who want to “maintain a foundation in their culture and language” meaning that ignoring a name that was once used when hunting their ancestors means that they are ignoring their culture. The name is not just racist and derogatory but promotes the an old-fashioned and stereotypical view of Native
The Dallas Cowboys, America’s football team, one of the most well known professional football franchises in the sport’s history. The Cowboys own five super bowl titles, which were won in ’71, ’77, ’92, ’93 and ’95. They are also home to 19 renowned individuals who have been inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame including standout football stars Tony Dorsett, Emmit Smith, and Troy Aikman. Established in 1960, the Cowboys have been a dominating force on the field and still continue to produce to this day. Forbes wrote, “The Cowboys franchise value reaches over 1.85 billion and are listed as the third most valued sports team in the world”, (Page 1). With all of this hype and world wide recognition the powerhouse from Dallas needs a venue just as prominent as the team itself as well as having the capability to hold all the weight the Cowboys name carries.
Their owner’s thirst for television coverage and eternal relevance has given him the nickname “The Ringmaster.” Enter New England Patriots. The team adorned in red, white and blue
In a generation focused on social justice and the elimination of prejudice from our society, there is still a use of offensive language and terminology in the area of professional sports. In “The Indian Wars” by S. L. Price, Price attempts to make the reader aware of sports teams that use derogatory terms as their team name and their mascot. He does this by highlighting football, and trying to determine whether Native-Americans are offended by team names in sports, or more specifically, the Redskins. Price’s essay is ineffective because although he raises good points, he doesn’t help the reader to form an opinion by adding historical context to the derogatory names used. He also uses inaccurate poll results to make assumptions about the feelings
The debate is divided into two sides. Those opposed to the use of Redskins and all Native American names in sports, and perceive the use of such terms and imagery as racist and derogatory towards Native Americans and those for keeping the name who cite the history of the team, its links to Native American players and coaches who were part of the team when it was create...
Did you know the Steelers haven’t always been called the Steelers? When Arthur Rooney purchased the team he named them the Pittsburgh Pirates. He got this name from the Pittsburgh National League Baseball Team. But in 1940, the Pirates became the Steelers, in order to generate more fan support. This name came from the city’s primary source of employment. This was an honor for the Steelers, being able to represent Pittsburgh steel heritage.
The Green Bay Packers were born on August 11, 1919 on the second floor of the old Green Bay Press Gazette building. On August 13 it was established that the Indian Packing Co. would sponsor a football team. They named it the “Packers”. Their games were to be held at Hagemeister Park. The team limit was 38 people altho they only had 20 full uniforms. Most of the team players were from East and West Green Bay high schools.
The NCAA and the Seminole Tribe of Oklahoma seem to find this as being racist and demeaning to the Seminole Tribe of Florida. The NCAA, at first, was against it for the previous reasons until they were aware that the Seminole Tribe was in favor of the mascot because it respects their traditions and displays a tribute to them. The NCAA went on to grant a waiver to the school and remove them from their list of colleges that use hostile or abusive imagery towards Native American groups. It is thought that using a mascot with references to certain Native American tribes or traditions is racist, but in fact it is really promoting the culture of the tribe and the traditions of the tribe. The Washington Redskins have seen the name Redskins under scrutiny by the public frequently, but when the president was asked about it he described the team name to be a courageous symbol, and that it shows the strength of the Native Americans. The reference to strength shows the respect they have for them because a football team wouldn’t want to be called something that wasn’t very courageous. It is a sign of respect from the organization using a Native American mascot to the Native American people. It also shows respect to the culture and promotes it letting more people become aware of the bright history of the American Indians. If a school would choose to use a mascot that has any
I awaited the day before the big game in nervous apprehension. Would the Red Sox be able to rebound from a 0-2 series deficit and advance to face the Yankees? They had already won two straight games and evened the series at 2-2. The next game would be the do or die situation. I stylishly dressed in all of my Red Sox apparel (even the lucky red socks) and prepared for an invigorating game. Mike from the third floor came down to the first floor lounge to watch the big game. Being from Cleveland, Mike was sporting all of his Indians apparel. For the next the 3 hours Mike would be my most bitter enemy. Mike was the antichrist. We would swear at each other, hurl projectiles at each other, and possibly even have an outright brouhaha if things got out of control. In the bottom of the second inning, the Indians got 2 hits, which spawned an outrageous reaction from mike. He sprung from his seat, arms failing about, and began to do a mock Indian dance in front of me. "Sit your silly ass down," I probably yelled. Then he began to do the tomahawk chop to his fabulously clichéd rendition of an Indian chant, "Ohhhh oh oh oh Ohhhh oh oh oh." I looked up at Mike's hat. The Cleveland Indian logo goofily stared down at me.
Just as you can not and should not trade mark a swastika, the same principle applies to the Redskins name, it really does not matter if the creator of the team or the word had the intent to disparage. It actively is degrading and has a history of being disparaging to the Native American population.
Redskins, a name of honor or dishonor? There has been controversy that involves the name and logo a National Football League (NFL) team named the Washington Redskins. Many people believe the use of Native American names and symbols by non-native sports teams, is a detrimental form of ethnic stereotyping. President Barack Obama discussed issues of culture and professional football on an interview with the Associated Press (AP), stating that the Washington Redskins football team should consider a new name. In response, Lanny Davis, an attorney for the Redskins, argued that President Obama is not aware polls taken in 2004 and 2013 that reveal Native Americans weren’t bothered by the name “Washington Redskins”. Although President Barack Obama and
The building and naming of Fenway Park goes back to 1912 with the help of John Taylor. Fenway Park was built by a wealthy man named John Taylor. He was the owner of the Boston Braves at the time and needed a ballpark to play in while the Boston Braves' was under construction. He found a small piece of land called "The Fens" at the time and decided it would be perfect, "The new ballpark was constructed for the 1912 season and was named by then Red Sox owner John I. Taylor. He said, 'It's in t...
The next reason we’ll be looking at are the stereotypical images commonly seen in literature and mascots. Mainstream media such as “Dances with Wolves”, “The Lone Ranger”, and “The Last of The Mohicans” and mascots in professional sports teams like Washington Redskins, Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves, and Chicago Blackhawks all include representations of Native Americans that for some, are offensive. With this in mind, ...
Following one’s hometown team or childhood NFL team through the regular season, playoffs, and hopefully, the Super Bowl has become a staple of today’s culture. Whether or not their favorite team makes it to the big Super Bowl game, they still find themselves cheering on one of the teams competing. This is even the case for non-football fans.... ... middle of paper ... ...
It has been decided by the California State Legislature to approve the ban on use of Redskins as a mascot for Calaveras High School. By 2017, four high schools in California will have to phase out of their use of the Native American mascot. To some this is doing justice in defense to the Native Americans, but to others it is taking away a proud tradition of honoring them. For one to be reasonably offended one must understand both sides of the argument. As Calaveras High School, we are using the name in honor, pride, and respect but to others we are “politically incorrect.” Calaveras succeeds in showing the respectful and proud side of honoring the name Redskins, established relationships with the local Native Americans, and they have presented us with gifts such as the beautiful baskets that are still present in our front office. Everyone has their own way to define words and is entitled to their opinion including the group of people that have a negative definition of Redskin. Their belief is that the term is mocking, offensive, and racist. In 2005, a Native American Intellect named Ives Goddard of Smithsonian Institution studied and found