Rosenthal: Mayor wants to discuss changing Redskins nickname

I looked to see if this was posted already and didn't see it. This sounds more serious than I have ever seen it when it comes to the Redskins and a name change.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000124151/article/mayor-wants-to-discuss-changing-redskins-nickname

Well, it's a good thing they're not moving back to DC.

I'm glad to see the league is getting on board with this issue.

The article link is from NFL.com.

How is the lease at FED EX?

So stupid, if you don't like something, sue or complain til you get your way

Gray will be long gone after the FedEx lease expires (2027).

isn't this bum as crooked as a dog's hind legs? how can anyone take him seriously.

Time for Notre Dame to change their name ...

In recent years, with teams under pressure from various interest groups to drop names like Redmen and Warriors, one occasionally reads of a movement among some Irish Americans urging Notre Dame to adopt a new name (or at least to get rid of the pugilistic Leprechaun logo and mascot).

http://inthepastlane.com/2013/01/01/why-notre-dame-originally-opposed-the-name-fighting-irish/

He can get bent.

Society is getting more and more uptight by the day. It's only a matter of time till the name changes. I have zero problem with the name but at this point I'd be okay with it changing so I wouldn't have to hear about it.

Society is getting more and more uptight by the day. It's only a matter of time till the name changes. I have zero problem with the name but at this point I'd be okay with it changing so I wouldn't have to hear about it.

So exactly what would you rename the team to that isn't going to offend anyone?

Society is getting more and more uptight by the day. It's only a matter of time till the name changes. I have zero problem with the name but at this point I'd be okay with it changing so I wouldn't have to hear about it.

I have a problem with it, I have the dang indian head tattooed on my forearm! Ill have to get it fixxed!

Honestly though, can this country be any more uptight, wimpy and just plain sensitive? Man, imagine our forefathers complaining about crap like this? Unreal, LOL, what a joke anymore.

Keep the name, screw the sensitive figures.

So exactly what would you rename the team to that isn't going to offend anyone?

I personally don't want the name to change. I am familiar enough with the history of the name to know that it's origin was not racist in nature, but twisted by racists later.

If it had to, I would prefer Washington Warriors. We can keep the Native American iconography to preserve our history somewhat.

I know it sounds kinda Arena Football like, but it's as close as I can come up with to keep it in line with our history and drop the name that gets peoples feathers ruffled.

In recent years, with teams under pressure from various interest groups to drop names like Redmen and Warriors, one occasionally reads of a movement among some Irish Americans urging Notre Dame to adopt a new name (or at least to get rid of the pugilistic Leprechaun logo and mascot).

Seriously? "Warriors" is offensive too now? That's insane.

If you're indian and you're offended, who am I to tell you to get over it? I don't have a problem with the name, but the name is offensive.

How is the lease at FED EX?

Redskins don't lease Fed Ex Field, they own the stadium. Jack Kent Cooke paid for it himself instead of state money.

If you're indian and you're offended, who am I to tell you to get over it? I don't have a problem with the name, but the name is offensive.

What's offensive about it? I've never heard the term used in a derogatory sense. People associate the term with the color of skin or scalping or some other wives tale that spread like gossip, but it is not.

According to the Smithsonian Institute, the tern "redskin" refered to smearing red clay or red paint on one's face during war or for ceremonial purposes. A badge of honor so to speak.

The "Washington Peaceful People."

???

I always thought that if we had to change the name, the best option was to just call them "skins." I also don't think "pigskins" (which the City Paper uses) is all that bad. You could easily keep the fight song, signage, and the name has a an obvious link to the Hogs and football, itself.

I get ya mentallyinept. It's just going to be hard in this day and age to come up with a name that isn't going to offend someone. So to those that are offended by our teams name it's simple root against us. Become cowboy fans or a midgets fan.

im on board with changing our mascot to a potato, but maybe thats just me

What's offensive about it? I've never heard the term used in a derogatory sense. People associate the term with the color of skin or scalping or some other wives tale that spread like gossip, but it is not.

According to the Smithsonian Institute, the tern "redskin" refered to smearing red clay or red paint on one's face during war or for ceremonial purposes. A badge of honor so to speak.

That might be another use for the term Redskin, but in this case, it's to describe the color of indians. It's hard to argue considering the Redskins logo is an indian.

Again, I'm not offended, but I'm not an indian.

Wouldn't bother me if the name it gets changed.

It's still my team.

I would rather this franchise be stuck in the muck and mire of another 30 years of mediocrity and bad football than change the name. I'm not passionate about much, but this is one thing I'll fight to the death on. Un****ing believable how sensitive some people are. They love being offended, it's in their blood. They LOVE it. If it's not this, it's something else that offends them. You know what offends me? People that are so easily offended by a name.

Regardless of your feelings on the team name, there are several problems with the article. For instance:

"I think that if they get serious with the team coming back to Washington, there's no doubt there's going to have to be a discussion about that, and of course the team is going to have to work with us around that issue," Gray said on Wednesday via The Washington Post.

Mayor Gray, there's been a lot more talk about the team coming back to DC from the DC Council and mayor's office than there has been from the Redskins organization.

Can you imagine any other ethnic group being a nickname/mascot for a team?

Hmmm....if I try really, really hard I can imagine a world in which there are teams called the Celtics, the Fighting Irish, the Eskimos, the Saxons, the Canadiens, the Seminoles, the Ragin' Cajuns, the Scots, the Quakers, the Gaels, etc...

Gray is in position to make the nickname a political and financial issue. If the Redskins don't change the name, they may not get a new stadium.

Other than rumor, is there any indication that the Redskins are even interested in moving back to the District? There seems to be a lot more interest in that from the DC side than from the Redskins. And "Gray is in position to make the nickname a political and financial issue?" Really? The mayor who has been urged repeatedly to resign and who is unlikely to even run for a second term?

Again, putting one's feelings about the name aside, the article as it is written is a complete non-story.

When is he up for re-election? We have quite a lare enough fanbase to sway voting.... Just saying.

What's offensive about it? I've never heard the term used in a derogatory sense. People associate the term with the color of skin or scalping or some other wives tale that spread like gossip, but it is not.

According to the Smithsonian Institute, the tern "redskin" refered to smearing red clay or red paint on one's face during war or for ceremonial purposes. A badge of honor so to speak.

There is a general distaste for color based racial terms.

History, American history included, is filled with these terms being used to disparage groups of people that are perceived as the "other".

So when people with an exposure to other color based racial terms see "Redskin", they automatically recoil. They assume that the name must carry with it a negative connotation of the subject.

That's it really.

Edit: For clarification, I'm not advocating the use of color based racial terms only that, like in all things, each word must be considered independent and evaluated as such.