This editorial was in an independent paper in Pasadena,/Los Angeles California. It is not currently available online. His email address is [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Bailing on the Redskins Boycott pro football until Washington finds a new nickname by Kevin Uhrich For most of my life, from childhood until now, I've been a football fan. Not just a fan, really, but a fanatic; watching it, dreaming about it, writing about it, playing it both in and out of uniform, scheming over game plans and strategies and eventually, as an adult, betting on some of those very same pro teams that I idolized as a boy. But thanks to the owners and coaches and executives with one team, the Washington Redskins, I am once and for all washing my hands of the sport that once brought me so much happiness and continues to bring joy and excitement to millions - not to mention hundred of millions of dollars to the owners of those teams - each week. Why? Just think about it. The Redskins, or the "Skins," as those insipid idiot announcers so affectionately call them each week, are still playing under that incredibly racist nickname, the same nickname used by government soldiers as they committed genocide on Native Americans at the end of the 19th century. And by all indications, they have no plans of changing that name. Can you think of any term that could be more insulting, more hurtful, not just to Native Americans but to anyone who considers themselves advocates for; or even merely sympathetic toward civil and human rights? How about those Kansas City Chiefs? Isn't that racist? You bet it is. But it's not even close to redskins. While questionable in just its disrespectful use alone, the term chief doesn't compare with that of redskins. Well, you say, how about those Atlanta Braves? Sure, but braves are, well, brave, and isn't that a quality that we should all aspire to? Then what about the Cleveland Indians? OK, you got me there. That's a good case in point. All I can say is that I don't really care at all about baseball. As far as I'm concerned, all those crybabies can go on permanent strike. Football's my game, or was. But even as racist as those nicknames are, there is nothing in all of sports - professional, college, high school - that compares to that of the Washington Redskins. Nothing. But you would never know that from watching their games. Before and after the games, they have the "Redskins Report" with George Michael and a slew of ex-"Skins" players, like a tremendously slimmed down Sonny Jorgenson, and they have the "Skins" pregame show. It's as though they can't actually say the whole name, "Redskins," out loud. Of course, those guys never interview that lone African-American man who stands, or who used to stand alone outside RFK Stadium each week with a sign that read, "What if they were called the Washington Niggers?" Indeed, what if they were called that or any number of a half-dozen racial slurs that are still popular today, no matter how much the "Skins" owners and the NFL would have us believe otherwise? No matter how much they say they are equal opportunity employers, they aren't. No matter how many black men they hire to run with their damn ball week in and week out, they aren't. No matter how much they say they are doing their bit to promote equality, they aren't. Don't believe for one second that racial equality means a thing to the people who cut those whopping paychecks. If those players didn't perform, they wouldn't get paid. Period. When you stop and think about it, the NFL and the "Skins" are only promoting and profiting by racial divisiveness, and using the weakest and most powerless of all minority groups in the country to do it. Until Washington changes that name, all of the league's talk of equality is little more than empty words. -- Andr� Cramblit: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Operations Director Northern California Indian Development Council NCIDC (http://www.ncidc.org) is a non-profit that meets the development needs of American Indians and operates an art gallery featuring the art of California tribes (http://www.americanindianonline.com) COMMUNICATION IS THE KEY TO THE FUTURE OF AMERICAN INDIANS/NATIVE AMERICANS/ALASKAN NATIVES & HAWAIIAN ISLANDERS. For news of interest to Natives subscribe send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] or go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/NativeAmericanNews/subscribe/?location=listinfo Visit and show your support for the Grass Roots Oyate http://members.tripod.com/GrassRootsOyate Clemency for Leonard Peltier. Sign the Petition. http://petitiononline.com/Release/petition.html ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?b1ddNB.b2HgmN Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
