SLAM! Sports: Top 10 worst team names

[Bang]

The team was named for the patriots who painted their skins red and dumped tea in Boston Harbor.

As usual, a lack of knowledge and a blind eye make the list moronic.

IF you're going to go after offensive nicknames, I suggest you start here.

This is Buffalo Bill.

Buffalo Bill made his name killing buffalo. Lots and lots and lots of buffalo.

Historians invariably point to the slaughter of the buffalo as one of the main causes of the decline of native Americans. The buffalo was their life,, they used the meat and hide, and many tribes followed the great herds as part of their every day existence. Those that didn't roam relied heavily on the buffalo trails and migration routes that would provide them with the sustenance they needed.

When Whites moved west, they killed the buffalo wholesale. The herds thinned so much that it devastated many nations.

And Bill Cody earned his nickname by killing more of them than anyone else.

And whenever I see one of these articles blasting the Redskins for their name, I NEVER, and i mean NEVER see the Bills listed as offensive. In all candor, it should be the name that is MOST offensive to these native american groups. It honors one who is glorified for taking part in the destruction of their way of life.

And to make matters worse, on the side of their helmet, they depict the animal he slaughtered. Hardly the honor that the Natives would give a buffalo they had killed for their needs.

The Buffalo Bills is the biggest slap in their face in all of the sports world.

And yet all of these clowns that get up in arms over these names never seem to figure that out.

So why should I care what is offensive? They obviously don't.

~Bang

[JeffSchmeff]

Wow, you learn something new every day. Interesting stuff, Bang.

[CallMeGreen]

Here is arrogance: http://www.redskinssucks.com/index.cfm

These people are even worse, IMO. Talk about hate mongers. And it's interesting how they throw around all those epithets on their site to try and stir up the hate. Many of the words they use, which I won't repeat here, have been used in hate crimes and are very incitable terms; that is they're used to start trouble.

Why can't we take a different tact here. The meanings of words mutate over generations anyway. A Cowboy used to be someone that just roped cattle and rode horses. In recent years a new meaning has emerged which has the word meaning a person that drives recklessly or a person that breaks rules.

Why not define a new meaning of Redskin to be a person that celebrates and remembers the early heritages of American Indians? Frankly, probably because of the surroundings in which I've grown up, I'm much more offended by the term Cowboys than I am Redskins.

Maybe when PETA is done with Michael Vick, they can head to Texas to pick on those animal rustler Cowboys.

[Dan T.]

Though this thread has turned really serious. . .

Small school in WV in the town of Poca that's nickname is the Dots.

Yes, they are the... Poca Dots

:doh:

Although - they do have cool logos.

and

The Poca Dots. I love it!

:applause:

[slackermike]

i saw that on real sports or something like that. there is and they make fun of it whenever they can.

there is a place in northern california called Weed. whenever we used to play them at football our cheerleaders always would make one sign "smoke weed". it would never get put up, but every year without fail..

I guess you liked the sig I made....

[Bang]

Here is arrogance: http://www.redskinssucks.com/index.cfm

I notice that their poll is running about 2 to 1 against the name being offensive.

I wonder if they'll listen to it?

Probably not. Obviously the people voting in their poll don't know what's right.

Right?

~Bang

[mtyquinn]

Just go back a few years in the very city, when Abe Pollin changed the name of the basketball team from Bullets because of the high murder rate in the district. Sure, there was an uproar, and now everyone calls them the Wizards without thinking twice.

The problem with this was the phony way they went about the change. Everyone know Pollin wanted to change the name to "Wizards" but they went through a phony name the team contest. Pollin should have just come out and said this is the new name.

I've always wondered why there is no team in the major sports named the "Knights", (other than the baseball team in "The Natural"). I always thought this would be a very easy marketing thing.

[#98QBKiller]

Sun Media needs a hearty slap in the face

[thedoc4454]

Because I am of Irish decent I can't tell you how offended I am by the name "The Fighting Irish", and if you disagree with me I'll kick the crap out of you.

[Larry]

"Butte Pirates" :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

I remember once reading some sports mag's list of the 10 best High School team names.

Their winner was (going from about a 20-year-old memory) "Ortofino, Indiana. Home of the state mental institution and the Ortofino Maniacs."

[drums and skins]

I noticed the authors hid their identity. No names listed anywhere on the site.

Nice to see people won't attach their names to their beliefs

Do a whois on the site and it brings up:

Ellin, J

Ellin Consulting, Inc

PO Box 16

Shrewsbury, Pennsylvania 17361

2 hours from Philly...just north of the Maryland border. Coincidence?

[desioreo87]

if you can't see why it is offensive to people then you are mentally challenged. My sociology teacher was a True Native American and she thought it was despicable and a ridiculous name. Tried to make a joke saying "come on, we're representin'" and that went down a bad path. But yeah Native Americans don't like the name it sounds like a slur.

[DallasCowboyFan156]

Butte Pirates? Someone seriously didn't think that one through. I think this list left out a few good ones.

Gotta give props to the Hoopeston Cornjerkers for quite possibly the most disturbing team nickname of all times.

Whittier College Fighting Poets

Elon Fighting Christians

Freeburg Midgets

Atlanta Krunk

Just a few I ran across in about five minutes of searching.

[panel]

It is a racial slur.

It is now, but was it when the team was name this?

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

I think it is ludicrous that people hate on our name...i don't find it offensive, or racist in the least

Oh...well, that settles it.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

Are you sure about your info here????

Read this:

I think that it is well established that redskin is taken by most people today to be disparaging. What is more interesting is whether it has always been so, as Harjo et al., as well as various others, claim. One interesting piece of evidence is the origin of the name Washington Redskins. In 1933, George Preston Marshall, the owner of the team, which was then located in Boston, renamed it the Boston Redskins in honor of the head coach, William "Lone Star" Dietz, an American Indian.³ When the team moved to Washington in 1937 it was renamed the Washington Redskins. George Marshall clearly did not consider the name disparaging.

Full Article:

http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002961.html

George Preston Marshall was also a virulent racist. I wouldn't base my argument on what he considered disparaging or not disparaging.

[Bacon]

Racism

n.

The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.

Keeping this in mind, how is naming a team after a certain shade of skin color racist? :doh: It's not like the logo insults native Americans or anything. We're just stating facts.

[No_Pressure]

if you can't see why it is offensive to people then you are mentally challenged. My sociology teacher was a True Native American and she thought it was despicable and a ridiculous name. Tried to make a joke saying "come on, we're representin'" and that went down a bad path. But yeah Native Americans don't like the name it sounds like a slur.

I go to school in a town that is about an hour...hour and a half from the Navajo nation... something like 19% of the town's population is native american.

Native Americans I know and have met don't care about the name. The only ones that seem to care are the ones back east looking for attention...hell I have seen a few of them out here actually wearing a skins hat. I think a lot of the non-natives who make a big fuss about the name are people that are trying to show how much of a racist they aren't...much like a girl I knew who was dating a friend of mine (she was white) who told me she dated black guys exclusivly and she liked it because it proved she wasn't a racist. A lot of these writers are the white person who is terrified of being thought of as a racist, so they have gone out of their way to prove beyond a doubt that they are alright. Whats the easiest way to establish that as a sports writer? Write something damning the Redskins.

[Spartacus87]

George Preston Marshall was also a virulent racist. I wouldn't base my argument on what he considered disparaging or not disparaging.

Not only that, but William Dietz wasn't even actually Native American, he stole that "Lone Star" name from a real Native American, which is incredibly insulting in and of itself.

That being said, personally, I don't really care about the name. I usually just say "Skins" out of habit, but most people I've talked to about it that are non-Redskins fans say they never really think about it as a racist name until the point is forced. They just think of it more as a team name, nothing good or bad about it. I can understand where the anti-Redskins name crowd is coming from though, and it'll always be a hot button issue as the world gets more and more PC.

[Larry]

if you can't see why it is offensive to people then you are mentally challenged. My sociology teacher was a True Native American and she thought it was despicable and a ridiculous name. Tried to make a joke saying "come on, we're representin'" and that went down a bad path. But yeah Native Americans don't like the name it sounds like a slur.

Did your teacher teach you about the dangers of generalization?

The vast majority of Native Americans don't have a problem with it.

I am one (and so are a noticeable chunk of the posters on this site), and I don't have a problem with it. Neither do the other (Native American) members of my family.

The Redskins sell more merchandise to Native Americans than any other NFL team. (I think, among Native Americans, that Redskins merchandise accounts for over a quarter of all NFL merchandise.)

But I guess that's just because I'm mentally challenged.

[Bang]

.... and it'll always be a hot button issue as the world gets more and more PC.

I'd like to add that it would cease to be an issue if the lawyers who continually bring it up in court (and get subsequently thrown out) couldn't make any money off of the case.

It's a shakedown. The redskins are worth a lot of money. And winning a case like this and forcing a huge entity like the NFL to change something so long standing would be worth millions to them.

If the numerous polls conducted of Native Americans proved that they were indeed offended, then by all means, change it. But these polls keep coming back that it isn't offensive to them, and usually by an overwhelming margin. In fact, in a lot of the polls, those asked said that the name is an honor. (I know, seems weird, but hey, I didn't say it, they did.)

It's the same group of seven lawyers who keep bringing the case back. That's right, only seven names are on the petition that keeps getting brought back into court and subsequently thrown out..

Sorry, but in the USA seven people do not constitute a majority. Considering how PC this country has become, you'd think that a court somewhere would consider their case.

But no one does. The case keeps getting tossed out of court. Am I to believe that every judge who has heard the case is a Redskins fan? Or has every judge who has heard the case been a racist who hates Indians? Or is it that the US has decided to be sensitive to every group BUT this one?

OR, maybe their case has no merit?

If Desioreo wants to be offended by it, that is her right. But understand, your opinion is in the minority. (and if you're not a woman, sorry,, the name seems feminine so I'm assuming.)

~Bang

[TMK9973]

I am a die hard Redskins fan - But there is no question - Reguardless of how the name started or what it was ment to be, it was used as a racist slur for years.

The question is can a term that was used as a racist slur ever be used again for not as a racist slut?

It will change 1 day - I have no doubt.

BTW - Best name ever -

I'm not a GWB fan, but in his drinking days he started a rec club team (Unsure of sport) and named them the Nads....

He wanted the fans to shout

"GO NADS

GO NADS

GO NADS!"