No more Redskins? Enough is Enough!
July 3, 2020
by Steve Thomas
As a preliminary matter, please understand that this column is simply my opinion, and I don’t speak for the rest of The Hog Sty on this. All of our Hog Sty contributors are free to write their own piece and/or talk about it on the air. I’m going to try very hard to be objective here, but the fact of the matter is that I’m mad and this column is my stream of consciousness response to a complicated issue.
First, news broke late Wednesday that a group of investment firms had asked Fed Ex, Pepsi, and Nike to end their business relationship with the Redskins unless the team was willing to change its name. I looked into who some of these investment firms were, and once I realized that they were all social activists and some of them had connections to the same folks who’ve been suing the Redskins for more than 20 years, I yawned. This is basically an expanded list of the same group that’s been after the name since the beginning, and I never did and still don’t consider them all that important or much of a threat. Also, the money controlled by these investment firms is overblown – these mostly aren’t major Wall St. players. They’re activists, and good for them, but they need to be taken in context.
However, Fox 5 DC reported on Thursday afternoon that Fed Ex had written the team a letter asking them to change the name from “Redskins” to something else. This is important and could be a game changer; after all, the CEO of Fed Ex, Fred Smith, is a minority owner of the team. I didn’t yawn at this news; instead, I just got mad. Then, Thursday evening, we learned that Nike had at least temporarily pulled Redskins gear from its website.
I did ask the Redskins for comment regarding the Fed Ex report, but the team has not responded as of publication time.
I realize there’s alot going on in the world right now, and I’m not going to get into all of those issues here because at the end of the day this is a sports website, and we don’t do politics or social commentary. But truthfully, I’m sick and tired of the name controversy and I’m even more tired of the “cancel culture” that’s so prevalent right now. Personally, I see nothing wrong with the team name. It doesn’t offend me, and I don’t think it’s really a racial slur anymore. In fact, I can honestly say that I’ve never heard the word “Redskins” spoken outloud or read it in any current piece of writing in my entire life except in conjunction with the team. The history of the name is complicated, and there’s a legitimate dispute as to its true origins, but to me it’s just a name.
I’m not Native American (although I do have slightly more than an Elizabeth Warren-sized drop of Native American blood) and haven’t spent much time around that culture, but it appears to me that the people who are offended, or pretend to be offended, are a very small minority. I’m sorry – call me callous, an anachronism, out of touch, wrong, or whatever you want, but I don’t particularly see the need to change something just to appease a small, vocal handful who have nothing better to do than go after a football team. In fact, I’d rather not just out of spite. To me, it’s pretty darn irrational and I’m getting sick of the entire argument. Are the anti-name people so upset about having to look at the name “Redskins” that it’s going to cause some sort of society-wide problem? In my opinion, practically speaking, “Redskins” isn’t even a word in our modern lexicon except in conjunction with the team. I’d feel differently if this name was a real, serious racial slur or the team logo was an obvious caricature such as the Cleveland Indians’ Chief Wahoo (who seems to be mostly gone now), but I’ve never viewed it that way. My mindset regarding these sorts of things is that if you don’t like it, don’t watch. Problem solved. There are many more important things to worry about. Besides, an 83 year history has to mean something.
The Redskins probably aren’t going to care what a bunch of activist money managers think, but they will care about the opinion of the stadium’s name sponsor. But why now, Fed Ex? The Redskins were good enough for you guys all of these years – they first sponsored the stadium in 1999. You’re telling me that all of a sudden Fed Ex has grown a conscience? I think their action is more of an obvious and cynical move to pander to current societal unrest and less about any sort of genuine change of heart about the name “Redskins”. That makes me both mad and sad at the same time.
What could happen as a result? I doubt that Fed Ex has much short-term leverage if the Redskins flat-out refuse to do anything. The stadium name is governed by a contract between Fed Ex and the Dan Snyder-controlled entity that owns the stadium. I haven’t read these particular documents, but I have worked on another stadium naming rights deal, and my guess is that there probably isn’t a provision that will allow Fed Ex to just arbitrarily back out simply because it wants to. Changes in business status such as bankruptcy, a change in the business’ name, the company being bought by another entity, and some other things could result in a change, but I doubt there’s an easy way out solely for the reason that Fed Ex has just decided that “Redskins” is no longer politically correct enough. Obviously, the two parties could reach any modification to their agreement they want – almost anything can be purchased if enough money is thrown around – so I’m not saying that there’s no way at all for Fed Ex to pull out, just that it’s difficult. The long-term leverage, though, is that Fed Ex could refuse to sponsor the next stadium when it (hopefully) comes online in 8 years.
The loss of Fed Ex might not be the end of the world in and of itself, but if the call expands and starts to affect league-level sponsors, there could be a real problem. This recent “cancel” mentality has been sort of like a tidal wave; once one person or company makes a statement, others have followed, mostly out of fear of being called out themselves.
Regarding Nike, I refuse to buy any of their products in protest against the hypocrisy of a company that has no problem paying children in third world sweatshops halfway around the world a tiny amount per hour to make their products but simultaneously wants to continually preach at its customers (that’s a column for a different website), so personally the fact that they at least temporarily aren’t selling Redskins gear makes me happy. However, we can’t pretend that it isn’t a big deal to the NFL at large. It is. Nike is a major NFL sponsor. Dan Snyder may choose to ride this out, and he may be successful, but my guess is that Fed Ex and whatever Nike is doing is just the beginning.
One thing I seriously doubt is that Fed Ex sent this letter to the team (if it actually happened) out of the blue. It seems reasonable and likely to me that Snyder and Smith have probably talked about this, and that Snyder was expecting the request.
As far as how I feel, I can’t stomach the thought of rooting for the Washington [INSERT NEW NAME HERE]. It wouldn’t be the team of my youth. Not only do I not live in the DMV area any more, but I’ve moved around the world so much that I don’t have a particular geographic connection to Washington either. For me, it’s the memory of the Joe Gibbs-led Redskins, the team that I sat in RFK Stadium with my dad as a little kid on January 22, 1983, and rooted on against the Dallas Cowboys, that originally hooked me and keeps me interested. Take that away, and I’m not sure what I really have left.
I’m not saying that I’m going to instantly abandon the franchise or do something pointless and stupid like burn my Redskins gear, but I’m truly not sure if I’m going to feel the same way about this franchise with a new name, if it happens. I can’t conclusively say that I’m going to want to continue watching the team and spending every free waking moment working on a website dedicated to it. Hopefully we’ll never have to find out. Stand strong, Mr. Snyder.
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UPDATE, 11:12 am:
The following is the Redskins’ press release regarding the team name:
In light of recent events around our country and feedback from our community, the Washington Redskins are announcing the team will undergo a thorough review of the team’s name. This review formalizes the initial discussions the team has been having with the league in recent weeks.
Dan Snyder, Owner of the Washington Redskins, stated, “This process allows the team to take into account not only the proud tradition and history of the franchise but also input from our alumni, the organization, sponsors, the National Football League and the local community it is proud to represent on and off the field.”
Ron Rivera, Head Coach of the Washington Redskins remarked, “This issue is of personal importance to me and I look forward to working closely with Dan Snyder to make sure we continue the mission of honoring and supporting Native Americans and our Military.”
We believe this review can and will be conducted with the best interest of all in mind.