The Washington Redskins need a new name. Got any ideas?
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BooMan
Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
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I favor the Red Hawks. You could use the same colors, and the symbol would look almost the same.
We also need a new name for the Chiefs, Braves, and Indians. The most disgusting is the Indians. I lived in Cleveland for 9 years and had to look at that disgusting mascot all that time. Dreadful.
Yeah, the Cleveland logo needs to be changed, but not the name Indians, nor the Braves or Chiefs, as all three are not derogatory terms, at least that I know of.
Yup, I will always loathe the Indians for a number of reasons, Chief Wahoo only being one of them.
But don’t rename the Redskins to the Redhawks. I associate that name with another sports team.
How about the Lobbyists?
Washington Wingnuts. Definitely!
Perfect. I was gonna say The Washington Tea Party, The Washington Serious People, the Washington Wobbiests, but Washington Wingnuts was definitely won me over.
I went to Miami University in Ohio and they changed our Redskins to Redhawks years ago. It took a while before we stopped calling the teams “redskins”, but we supported the change.
Miami University had always worked with the Miami tribe and was sanctioned to use their Miami mascot, who was authentically portrayed by a student at the sporting events. The Student spent time with the members of the tribe to learn their ceremonial dances and wore authentic costumes. The mascot was never disrespectful nor caricaturish.
But eventually the tribe decided to stop sanctioning the Miami Logo and the University began the task of choosing a replacement. After polling alumni and having a vote, the Redskins became the Redhawks.
I’m glad they did it, and I hope the NFL does the right thing.
Seattle U also chose the Redhawks. They were the Chieftains.
Highest profile name change was Stanford dropping the Indians for the Cardinal. The student body voted on it, but the school declined to use the students’ favored choice, the Stanford Robber Barons.
Robber Barons would also be an entirely appropriate name for the Washington franchise.
I would call them the Red Warriors.
I would take the logo, remove the feathers and hair braids (or whatever that is), make the skin white, and change the hair color to red (a bright red-orange shade), while keeping the same shape to the nose and other features and add an arrow, sword, and axe to the background.
Warriors still has the same connotation, imo. Not enough.
The Fighting Filibusters? (oops, too late)
The Washington Obstructionists. The present color would be fitting.
The Washington Department of Football.
Take a little adjusting/getting used to but I think there’s promise there.
Washington Warriors. They can keep the logo, the team colors.
The Washington Racial Slurs!
Team motto: All Offense, all the time!
Another entry: the Washington Whiteskins. The mascots would be the cast of Twilight.
The Washington Americans.
Logo would be of a B52 dropping bombs on brown people.
They’d play at least one game a year in Israel, and when playing there would be the Washington Zionists.
Logo would be of the 1967 Israeli-Palestine border with Uncle Sam and Uncle Bibi popping a squat and shitting all over them.
The Washington Oligarchs
It’s both historically accurate and contemporary.
This isn’t original with me, but they can keep the team name – just change the mascot…
Yes. And fans coming from the pregame tailgates can be the Mashed Potaotes. (h/t DQ)
Heard someone suggest Red Tails awhile back. that works for me.
The Washington Why Did Shanahan Leave Griffin In That Playoff Game And Ruin His Career?
Actually, “Washington Griffins” would be fitting, considering that they have bet their future on him.
One of the many reasons to change the name has to do with the fight song (written by a white man) used by the fans. There are many racially negative stereotypes in that horrid song. The only team mascot that does not offend American Indians is the Seattle Seahawks. If they want to “honor” American Indians, then they should look into the culture and find a positive image. I am an American Indian; and, I have always found the name offensive. I also do not like warriors or braves because of the violence implied in what it takes to be a warrior or a brave. Additionally, when people shorten the name, they call them the “skins”. That is even more offensive. Why is there any discussion about the color of someone’s skin?
Song and Logo have to change. I do not agree about Warriors. Football is by nature, a violent game. Warriors are not confined to Native Americans. One of our local High School teams is named “the Schaumburg Saxons”. What could be more Anglo-Saxon? The team logo is a Saxon warrior with shield and sword, looking somewhat like the cartoon character “Asterix”. The garb is not authentic, perhaps WASP’s should complain about the ethnic slur.
The red uniforms are more iconic than the song, although the Indian head logo is also and must go because, at least to my knowledge, it is not a Native American team. Red Bloods? Perhaps African-Americans will object to that. Red Shirts? Crimson Tide is great but already taken. Scarlet Senators?
The term warriors in american sports has almost exclusively been a reference to native americans, and most came about during an era when “honoring” native americans this way was happening simultaneously with horrific racism. The two are intertwined.
It’s not always problematic – Hupa High School in california, for example, is majority native american and uses that mascot, as do a few other schools like it around the country. But context matters.
Yes, if violence is the issue, you’d also have to look at names like the Raiders, the Buccaneers, and the Vikings.
The Washington Lobbyists
I’d suggest the Washington Bullets (after the Clash song), but it was taken. But the Washington Racists, Washington Segregationists, or Washington Klansmen would all be historically accurate. The team was the last in the NFL (1962), eight years after the second-to-last, to start using African-American players, and then only because they were so bad with an all-white team that they had no choice. But the owner, an avowed racist, wanted to market the Redskins as the South’s team (this was long before the Falcons, Saints, Titans, Panthers, etc), and so the all-white team was actually used as a selling point. And of course the federal courtesans in DC, for whom it was the “home” team, also had no problem with any of this.
The team was founded by and has a long and sickening history of racism, well beyond the American Indian racial slur that is its central identity. I despise that team like no other. As bad as things like the “Tomahawk Chop” or “Chief Wahoo” are (Braves and Indians, respectively – and does anyone else remember the Braves’ vile old ’70s mascot, Chief Knockahoma?), they all pale next to the offensiveness of the “‘Skins.” That team could go 1-15 and the one win would still make me throw up in my mouth a little.
That’s interesting about it being the South’s team. I suppose you could flip that on its head, give them a new blue uniform, and call them the Washington Federals. Or maybe the Mudsills. Make John Brown’s Body their fight song. That would be cool.
There was a Washington Federals in the USFL (1983-84).
The Washington Legbreakers.
Washington Warlords.
force Washington o Milium
The Washington Looooossserrrrs!
Washington Know Nothings
The Washington Kickbacks.
Not bad.
Not bad at all!!!
AG
The Washington Money.
The Washington Scandal.
The Washington Swamp Things.
Zombie Reagan Apocalypse.
The Washington Blind Bombers.
W/the following logo, of course.
I got yer “Hail Mary.” Right here!!!
AG
The Washington Villagers.
How about the Washington Consensus?
We will all have to get together to agree on this one.
Not sure about a team name but they definitely should have a play called the nuclear option
Saw this somewhere: The Washington Red Clouds, named after the Native American who beat the US forces in the 1860s. That way the symbol can stay the same, or maybe changing it to a Indian planting its foot in a US cavalryman’s patootie.
Correction: His foot.
How could we all forget?
THE ARISTOCRATS!
some natural phenom, Washington Bumble Bees, Washington Avocets, Washington Honey Badgers, Washington Musk oxen, etc
A few weeks ago I proposed the Washington Lannisters, named, obviously, after their attorney Lanny Davis, but it didn’t go anywhere.
In honor of Gary Trudeau and in keeping with the fake-warrior mentality that permeates the NFL, I give you:
The Washington Red Rascals
How about adding something at the end, Washington Redskins, Really Now?
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Should be a name that strikes fear into the heart of everyone in town. Or at least in the Village.
The Washington Partisans.
How about the Washington Delawares? The actual name of an Indian tribe that occupied the Delaware river. Then no logo change necessary.
Washington Cons (titutionals) a la NY Metropolitans (Mets)
Washington Bubbles
Washington Turkeys – Eagles, Cardinals Sea Hawks are taken
Washington Ho’s – self explanatory
Washington Crabs – seafood, temperment, parasites – take your pick
Washington Whigs – captures their current relevance and a bit of the political history
Washington Obamas (named after a person, like the Browns)
– downside: mascots could be racially insensitive to African Americans instead of Native Americans
Washington 90ers – after 1790 when it was established in the US Constitution
Washington Dollars – Citizens United!
Washington Fixes or Fixers – How those bad habits deal with good ideas
Forgot to type in –
Washington Drones – do they ever! or implement of death and destruction
http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/10/10/new_york_jews_san_francisco_chinamen_cleveland_indian
s_ncai_poster_is_old.html
I like The Washington Lobbyists.
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