Hail to tradition: Should the washington redskins change their name?

A controversy surrounds the Washington Redskins because of their name. “Redskin” is a term that was used to describe the Native American people and it is supposedly offensive to some, which is odd because, when examining history, one would find that they gave that name to themselves. Regardless, some people are upset and there’s been a big push to change this team name that’s been around since the early 1930s because it’s supposedly a derogatory slur. Someone off ended by the name must have asked by now why the name was changed to “redskins” in the first place. If they had, they might have a feeling of pride, rather than offense. In 1933, after the team moved to Fenway Park, their name was changed to “redskins” by George Preston Marshall. Why would a football team purposefully give themselves a name that was seen as something negative? The Washington Redskins were named the “redskins” to honor the coach at that time, Lone Star Dietz, an American Sioux. “Redskin” wasn’t seen as negative, nor was it used as a negative term, but instead it was used with honor and respect. It’s pretty clear the name was only given for positive reasons. This is Washington Redskin heritage, and to remove the name now would be disrespectful to the coach and the Native American people that he proudly represented. It’s no wonder the National Annenberg Election Survey from 2004 shows that 90 percent of Native Americans say the Washington Redskin’s name doesn’t bother them, because it isn’t meant to bother them and never was. I’d certainly hope the name doesn’t bother them, considering they’ve given some of their own high schools the “redskins” name on Indian reservations and in other areas with high populations of Native Americans. Surely, they wouldn’t use a derogatory slur to name their schools with? If the name was meant to honor a Native American, a survey shows the name doesn’t bother the population as a whole, and Native Americans have named some of their own high schools the “redskins”, then why in the world should we demand the Washington Redskins change their name? From Bob Costas to Barack Obama, it seems like everyone is weighing in on this issue. Instead of looking at the facts, these people demanding a name change are just contributing to the start of a fi re just to get a little attention. Hail to the Redskins, best of luck to them with the rest of this season and many more seasons t o come under their historic team name, the Washington Redskins.