The calls to change the team name of the NFL franchise which resides in Washington D.C. has been picking up a lot of momentum recently. Senator Harry Reid called for Washington to change its name to something that was less antiquated and less racist. A commercial was run during the NBA Finals which pointedly stated that American Indians don’t identify by Dan Snyder’s precious term of pride either. Yesterday, even former Washington D.C. player Champ Bailey stepped forward and said that the name should be changed if it bothers people.
However, it doesn’t seem like the accumulating public pressure is doing anything to dissuade owner Dan Snyder from keeping his racist team name. If anything, it looks like he’s digging in. At least, that’s how Al Michaels sees it:
“It seems to me as if he is going to hold on,” Michaels said. “I mean, all of a sudden, I mean for 70-some odd years this was a zero issue. And then it became an issue? I understand that we live in this politically correct environment, it’s crazier than ever. Senators want to weigh in on this? Like there’s nothing else to do in Congress, this became an issue?
“And I do know, I’ve talked to Snyder about it — not recently, but when we were in Washington last year — and he basically said, ‘Over my dead body.’ ”
Yes, how dare minorities be offended by a constant painful reminder of their people’s history. Why can’t everyone just let the nice billionaire have his offensive team name in peace?
Of course, given Snyder’s track record this isn’t really surprising. Snyder will likely continue to bury his head in the sand and literally fight to his death over his right to call his team whatever name he damn well pleases. This will likely be a large part of his legacy and, as strange as it may seem, Dan Snyder would probably not want it any other way.
