Native American Mascots
By: Demi Perez
Should Native American Mascots be Allowed?
Some people think that having a native american mascot is offensive, but why? Most of the time the people that complain about this don't really have an explanation. The people that cheer on sports teams with a native names are not trying to be offensive, they are just trying to support their team. If anything i think it would be a compliment. “And I think what you have to do is look at where the term Redskin was originated. There’s some that give the term Redskins a negative connotation to indicate that it was created by the white man, to offend the Indians. But in reality, the term Redskins came from the Indians." And they referred to themselves often times, in treaty negotiations and meetings with the early settlers, as Redskins." So why is considered offensive when the Native Americans made the word? “I’ve been a Redskins fan for years and to be honest with you, I would be offended if they did change it.” People live for sports. They live for the feeling of being apart of something, the fun, the excitement, so what if that was all taken away just because of a name? To me it is silly. I also think that if the redskins had to change their name the number of fans they have would decrease dramatically because the fans believe that it would not be the same without the name.
Would it help or hurt the team?
"Appeal Board decision would strip the NFL team of all legal benefits afforded to registering a trademark with the federal government if the cancellation goes into effect, though the team would still be free to use its nickname and Indian head logo." So if they could still use the logo and the nickname then what is the point of making them change it? "Bergsman said evidence is lacking, that the vote actually represented 30 percent of Native Americans." If only thirty percent are native americans, then what is the other seventy percent? And why do they want it changed? Also as an owner of the team you have to think about this, if you change the name are you gaining or losing more fans? Chances are you are losing more than gaining. "I just think we have people in this country that try and gin up problems that don’t exist.” The name is really not that big of a deal. People just try to make it a big deal just so they can have something to do. “Daniel Snyder may be the last person in the world to realize this, but it’s just a matter of time until he’s forced to do the right thing and change the name,” Reid said." To me this is unfortunate. The redskins is his team and they should be named whatever he wants it to be named.