NFL commissioner Roger Goodell defended the Washington Redskins team name in a recent letter he wrote to Congress, which was revealed to the public on Tuesday. As you know, the Redskins name has garnered a lot of attention over the past year or so as some consider “redskin” to be a racist term. Goodell’s letter was in response to several members of Congress writing him to request that the name be changed.
In the letter, Goodell argued that the nickname was never meant to “denigrate Native Americans or offend any group.” He also included research polls claiming that there are many Native Americans who do not find the name offensive. Despite his argument, Goodell was still ripped by co-chair of the Congressional Native American Caucus Betty McCollum, who said he used “twisted logic.”
“Goodell’s letter is another attempt to justify a racial slur on behalf of [Redskins owner] Dan Snyder and other NFL owners who appear to be only concerned with earning even larger profits, even if it means exploiting a racist stereotype of Native Americans,” McCollum said. “Would Roger Goodell and Dan Snyder actually travel to a Native American community and greet a group of tribal leaders by saying, ‘Hey, what’s up redskin?’ I think not.”
Snyder insisted last month that his franchise is never going to change its nickname, but eventually it will become impossible to ignore the outrage. Very few deny that “redskin” is a racist term, and clearly Goodell’s letter did little to help the team’s cause. It may take a while, but the NFL is eventually going to get backed into a corner it can’t get out of.
