Name Change.......again.

It must be the offseason as this comes up with monotonous regularity:

Redskins Name Change Discussion Necessary, Says D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/09/redskins-name-change-vincent-gray_n_2443004.html)

“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,” Gray said, according to the Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/mike-debonis/wp/2013/01/09/redskins-name-change-should-be-discussed-vincent-gray-says/). "I think it has become a lightning rod, and I would be love to be able to sit down with the team … and see if a change should be made. There’s a precedent for this, and I think there needs to be a dispassionate discussion about this, and do the right thing.”

Amusingly, the article sets up the argument thus:

For decades, the team name has been a controversial issue. Some call the "Redskins" moniker nothing short of a racial slur. Others argue that the team's name, which dates back to the 1930s (http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2009/1116/p02s07-usju.html), is tradition and does not need to be changed.

So "It's racist" is countered by the equivalent of "We don't care".

Vincent Gray can eat the fuzzies outa my butt crack.

It must be the offseason as this comes up with monotonous regularity:

Redskins Name Change Discussion Necessary, Says D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/09/redskins-name-change-vincent-gray_n_2443004.html)

“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,” Gray said, according to the Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/mike-debonis/wp/2013/01/09/redskins-name-change-should-be-discussed-vincent-gray-says/). "I think it has become a lightning rod, and I would be love to be able to sit down with the team … and see if a change should be made. There’s a precedent for this, and I think there needs to be a dispassionate discussion about this, and do the right thing.”

Amusingly, the article sets up the argument thus:

For decades, the team name has been a controversial issue. Some call the "Redskins" moniker nothing short of a racial slur. Others argue that the team's name, which dates back to the 1930s (http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2009/1116/p02s07-usju.html), is tradition and does not need to be changed.

So "It's racist" is countered by the equivalent of "We don't care".

Comes down to context. It wasn't a racist term when the team was founded. The team has spent billions in marketing, brand management, etc based on the name. That's a large investment to give up because a handful of people are upset by the name.

But quite honestly, I don't care. I've never once said "Redskins" in a way where I in the least considered it a slight or an insult to a race. If I had to choose between going to Maryland (which is something I really hate regardless of the reason) for a Redskins game and DC for a Washington Warriors game... give me PG county...

It wasn't a racist name when founded, it wasn't when it was chosen as a name for people to root FOR, it isn't now except by the same small number of people who want to ban it. :doh:

Lovely article, when only one side's arguments are honestly reported.

The name was chosen to honor rather than degrade. I wish these handful of people would quit making a fuss about nothing. It gets old hearing this same discussion every year which never garners any real support.

it worked for academi...

It looks like Art Monk and Darryl Green think the name should be changed since it offensive to others. I heard them speaking about it on WTOP driving into the office this morning.