OrangeSkin Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 I thought this was a pretty interesting and even article. In 1992, four years after Jesse Jackson joined Stanford students in chanting “Hey hey, ho ho, Western Civ has got to go,” the Native American writer and activist Suzan Harjo, who had moved to Washington, D.C., in the 1970s, became the lead plaintiff in a case against the Washington Redskins football organization. She was joined by six other Native Americans, including the writer Vine Deloria Jr. This intended blow on behalf of Native American dignity—an attempt to force the team to change its name—took the form of a trademark registration case. Under the Lanham Act of 1946, any “mark” that is disparaging or that may bring a group of citizens into disrepute is not afforded the normal trademark protections.At the time, sports teams at all levels were facing pressure to change such names. The Atlanta Braves kept theirs—arguably neutral or even positive—but in 1986 they had retired Chief Noc-A-Homa, a mascot who actually had a teepee in the bleachers of Fulton County Stadium and performed a war dance when a home team player hit a home run. The St. John’s Redmen became the Red Storm in 1994. Miami University of Ohio dropped the name Redskins in 1997. But those were colleges, and small ones. The Washington Redskins were then and are now one of the richest franchises in all of professional sports, selling many millions of dollars’ worth of their burgundy-and-gold merchandise with the warrior’s head in profile. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary labels “redskin” as “usually offensive,” placing it in the company of “darky,” “kike,” and “dago.” But the Redskins fought the suit for years, and finally, in 2009, the Supreme Court refused to hear the plaintiff’s appeal, letting stand a lower court decision in favor of the football team chiefly on the grounds that the plaintiffs had waited too long to file their claim. The nickname had been the brainchild of George Preston Marshall, a laundry magnate and flamboyant showman who had bought the Boston Braves football team in 1932. As his second head coach, Marshall hired William “Lone Star” Dietz, a journeyman coach at the collegiate level whose mother was most likely a Sioux. It was in “honor” of Dietz, who coached the team for just two seasons and who at Marshall’s urging willingly put on war paint and Indian feathers before home games, that Marshall changed the team’s name to the Redskins. When Marshall, frustrated by Boston fans’ lack of support, moved the franchise to the nation’s capital in 1937, the coach was gone, but the team name stayed. http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2011/nov/10/racist-redskins/ Click link for the rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick7423 Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 You cannot deny history, what was done is done. The only good thing George Preston Marshall did as owner was bring the team to DC and draft Sammy Baugh and co in the mid 30's. What this team can do is work on the here and now to restore the good name of this franchise. Let the past go. The name will not change any time soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bang Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 Again? Didn't someone just write this same article about 4 months ago? were there some people born between now and then that need this dredged up again? ~Bang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Califan007 The Constipated Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 Again?Didn't someone just write this same article about 4 months ago? were there some people born between now and then that need this dredged up again? ~Bang ...Was thinking the same thing before clicking on the link. I suspect that the same article will be written over and over again for decades, with no new meaningful facts ever being presented (I guess it's officially a book review). I found this part rather clueless--and telling--though: I admit to a mild curiosity about whether they’d feel differently if they knew the name was dreamed up by the sport’s most overtly racist figure... The writer assumes that the overwhelming majority of Skins fans are clueless about how the team's name came into being, or about it's founding owner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RFKFedEx Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 You cannot deny history, Let the past go. The name will not change any time soon. But it will change eventually and this issue won't die until that day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeSkins Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 Again?Didn't someone just write this same article about 4 months ago? were there some people born between now and then that need this dredged up again? ~Bang Yup. I haven't been around too long and I'm completely sick of the same story written again and again. I don't even know how sick of it I'll be by the time I'm 60-something... Edit: My comment was not meant to denigrate your post in any way, OrangeSkin. I just wanted to make that clear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boss_Hogg Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 EDIT: I should have said, this premise/opinion has been recycled multiple times. Not a reflection on the OP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrangeSkin Posted November 9, 2011 Author Share Posted November 9, 2011 It's a review of a new book that I thought was relevant. The book is 277 pages, and probably has a lot of interesting information. I thought the review was more even than most articles on the subject that I've read and wasn't too biased in either direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljs Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 There is a small town near me called Wellpinit, Wa. It's part of a small Indian reservation. Guess what their mascot is? The Redskins. Ironic? Interesting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BleedBNG Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 Shouldn't the article be titled 'The Racist Redskins Owner'? I like his research... Merriam-Webster online dictionary :pfft: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 Shouldn't the article be titled 'The Racist Redskins Owner'? I like his research... Merriam-Webster online dictionary :pfft: Yeah, it's right up there with Wiki. Seriously though, dude should have just YouTube'd "the meaning of the F word". I can't think of a better example to show how, in the English language, how many different meanings words can & do have depending on their context. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDawg Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 But it will change eventually and this issue won't die until that day. Will it change? I'd like your crystal ball so I can get next weeks lotto numbers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 And that being said, as per our long standing policy on this subject, it's off to the Tailgate for this thread. Anyone new here in the last few months, knock yourself out. The rest of us that have seen thread/subject pop up about every 90 days over the years are most likely smart enough to say out of it to it being beaten to death, repeadity, over the years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stugein Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 Let's get everyone to start using "Cowboy" as a derogatory term for Hindus. Once it gets into the mainstream consciousnesses we can begin a campaign against that racist team in Dallas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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