Redskins "Name Change" Volume 10000000

President Obama became the latest, and most high-profile, figure to weigh in against the Washington Redskins’ name, saying he would consider changing it because it offends many Native Americans. “If I were the owner of the team and I knew that there was a name of my team — even if it had a storied history — that was offending a sizeable group of people, I’d think about changing it,” Obama said in an interview with the Associated Press (http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OBAMA_INTERVIEW_TEXT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT) published Saturday.




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Response To Pres. Obama's Comments

Posted 6 hours ago

Statement by Lanny J. Davis, attorney for Washington Redskins, in response to President Obama's comments on team name:


"As a supporter of President Obama, I am sure the president is not aware that in the highly respected Annenberg Institute poll (taken 2004) with a national sample of Native Americans, 9 out of 10 Native Americans said they were not bothered by the name the "Washington Redskins." The president made these comments to the Associated Press, but he was apparently unaware that an April 2013 AP poll showed that eight out of ten of all Americans in a national sample don't think the Washington Redskins name should be changed.

"We at the Redskins respect everyone. But like devoted fans of the Atlanta Braves, the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago Blackhawks (from President Obama's home town ), we love our team and its name and, like those fans, we do not intend to disparage or disrespect a racial or ethnic group. The name "Washington Redskins" is 80 years old - it's our history and legacy and tradition. We Redskins fans sing 'hail to the Redskins' every Sunday as an expression of honor not disparagement."

Would not..........."Hey Barry do you not have enough shit going on right now without F...n up the Redskins?" serve just as well?

President Obama became the latest, and most high-profile, figure to weigh in against the Washington Redskins’ name, saying he would consider changing it because it offends many Native Americans. “If I were the owner of the team and I knew that there was a name of my team — even if it had a storied history — that was offending a sizeable group of people, I’d think about changing it,” Obama said in an interview with the Associated Press (http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OBAMA_INTERVIEW_TEXT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT) published Saturday.




=================================

Response To Pres. Obama's Comments

Posted 6 hours ago

Statement by Lanny J. Davis, attorney for Washington Redskins, in response to President Obama's comments on team name:


"As a supporter of President Obama, I am sure the president is not aware that in the highly respected Annenberg Institute poll (taken 2004) with a national sample of Native Americans, 9 out of 10 Native Americans said they were not bothered by the name the "Washington Redskins." The president made these comments to the Associated Press, but he was apparently unaware that an April 2013 AP poll showed that eight out of ten of all Americans in a national sample don't think the Washington Redskins name should be changed.

"We at the Redskins respect everyone. But like devoted fans of the Atlanta Braves, the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago Blackhawks (from President Obama's home town ), we love our team and its name and, like those fans, we do not intend to disparage or disrespect a racial or ethnic group. The name "Washington Redskins" is 80 years old - it's our history and legacy and tradition. We Redskins fans sing 'hail to the Redskins' every Sunday as an expression of honor not disparagement."

Would not..........."Hey Barry do you not have enough shit going on right now without F...n up the Redskins?" serve just as well?

Does Barack even know that the Native American helmet logo was created upon the request of the late Walter "Blackie" Wetzel who was the chairman of the Blackfeet Nation and president of the National Congress of American Indians? I bet he didn't bother to research it, before basing his opinion. He should focus on fixing the government shutdown.

Guys, I don't mean to be a bummer, but if this thing gains anymore traction, a name change isn't that far off. These guys are going to be relentless til they get the name removed. I am an alum from Eastern Michigan University class of '93. Thing is in 1990 they decided to change the name from Hurons to the Eagles, because some Chippewa lady from around Mt. Pleasant found it offensive and filed a lawsuit(even though the Central Michigan Univ(Mt Pleasant) mascot are the Chippewas). White liberals decided it was offensive and didn't want any trouble, even though the indian head on the EMU logo was nowhere nearly as stereotypical as the one on our helmets. The Wyandotte Indians(Hurons) two chiefs from the reservations in Oklahoma and Quebec came to a football game to get the President of the University and the Regents to change their mind and go back to the Hurons. They were treated rudely by these so called PC liberals and effectively blown off. Thus the only reference to the Hurons in American pop culture was effectively removed all due to limousine liberals. I think the whole thing is stupid, but if this movement gains traction with enough of the liberals in DC, the name of our almighty Skins is probably doomed in the medium to long term.

This will not end apparently

No, this is a crusade by the PC crowd, and they will be relentless, even if some Native Americans come forward to defend the name. It is about control basically, control over what you can say under the guise of good intentions.

No, this is a crusade by the PC crowd, and they will be relentless, even if some Native Americans come forward to defend the name. It is about control basically, control over what you can say under the guise of good intentions.Bingo. Because it certainly isn't about the facts in this case.

Here's what President Obama had to say about the name "Washington Redskins", as reported by the Washington Post:

In an interview with the Associated Press, Obama said that he understood Redskins fans’ attachment to the name. But he also wondered if the attachment should overrule the feelings of Native Americans, who strongly oppose the name.

"If I were the owner of the team and I knew that the name of my team, even if they’ve had a storied history, that was offending a sizable group of people, I’d think about changing it", the president said.

He later said: 'I don’t want to detract from the wonderful Redskins fans that are here. They love their team, and rightly so — even though they’ve been having a pretty tough time this year. But I think — all these mascots and team names related to Native Americans, Native Americans feel pretty strongly about it. And I don’t know whether our attachment to a particular name should override the real, legitimate concerns that people have about these things.”

if Obama wasn't into politics he'd have a bright career as a journalist. He frames the argument as a sizable group of people instead of a small minority inside said sizable amount of people. and only one side has legitimate concerns. and frankly it looks condescending to me.

Does Barack even know that the Native American helmet logo was created upon the request of the late Walter "Blackie" Wetzel who was the chairman of the Blackfeet Nation and president of the National Congress of American Indians? I bet he didn't bother to research it, before basing his opinion. He should focus on fixing the government shutdown.

I'm sure the President didn't know the orgin of the Redskin name and logo. Poll Redskin fans and most wouldn't know Blackie Wetzel from Kemosabe. In the recent controversy, we're probably learning. Probably concerned about RG vs Cousins more than anything else.

And why would the president know Redskin history? He's a Chicago sports fan. He replied with a not-taking-sides answer, "If it's offensive to some people, I'd think about it..." Which Dan Snyder has already done.

Go Redskins! Change the coach, not the name!

Listening to the Barack soundbite, he sounded more like 'I don't care, I'm just answering your question' than he did of 'YES IT MUST BE CHANGED!' like the media is making it out to be.