Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder continued his pathetic attempt at proving his team name is not racist by watching Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals in a private box with Navajo Nation president Ben Shelly. Or, should we say, soon-to-be former Navajo Nation president Ben Shelly.
As Deadspin pointed out, Shelly is still acting president of the Navajo Nation but finished seventh in August’s primary election. A new president will be sworn in on Jan. 14.
There are a lot of reasons Shelly is being voted out of office. Deadspin highlights many of them, including allegations that he used slush funds to benefit himself and his family. Charges of fraud, conspiracy and theft were dropped after Shelly agreed to pay back thousands of dollars in cash he had allegedly stolen from the tribe.
Perhaps more importantly, Shelly’s support of Snyder and the Redskins name has resulted in his own people turning on him. While Shelly has supported Snyder publicly for months, the Navajo Nation council voted 9-2 back in April to oppose the nickname Redskins. Shelly was also accused of going behind the tribe’s back to partner with Snyder for a golf tournament.
In other words, all you need is about 10 minutes of research to realize how truly pathetic Snyder’s PR stunt was on Sunday. He can buy as many “Keep the Name” shirts as he wants and hold hands with Shelly on Sundays, but its not going to change a thing.
