Although it wasn’t planned this way, an advertisement opposing the Washington Redskins’ team name (on account of the fact that the name is really, really racist) was actually written by two fans of the NFL team which calls Washington D.C. home.
Peter Cretella and his wife Brittany are a singer/songwriter couple who go by the band name Doppio. Both also happen to be ardent fans of Washington’s football team and they were blown away by the fact that one of their songs is being used in the anti-racist-team-name advertisement which will broadcast in eight major markets during the NBA Finals.
The ad had previously been produced by the National Congress of American Indians in preparation for the Super Bowl but a shortened version will appear in the upcoming Finals tonight.
And while Peter Cretella didn’t even know that his song was going to be used for the ad (he found out because someone sent him a link of the video), he is all for changing the name of the team he roots for:
“Personally, I think if there’s anyone we’ve mistreated in this country, it’s the Indians,” he said. “And if there are any of them who are sincerely offended by the name, I think we should definitely consider changing it. I’ve kind of always been one for the underdog anyway.”
“This is the least we could do knowing the brutal events that occurred during the nation’s formation,” he later wrote in an e-mail.
Somewhere, Dan Snyder is looking to set up another American Indian charity.
