Feeling extreme corporate and political heat, the Washington Redskins and the Cleveland Indians are talking about changing their nicknames, and elated sports media "piranhas" are smelling blood in the water. Despite overwhelming national support for Native American nicknames, left-stream media -- The Washington Post and USA Today in particular -- have been demanding this change for years.
On Friday, the Redskins issued a news release stating:
“In light of recent events around our country and feedback from our community, the team will undergo a thorough review of the team’s name."
USA Today sports writer Erik Brady says the Redskins nickname "is gone. Can you imagine, in today’s world, conducting a 'thorough review' and deciding otherwise?"
Washington, owned by Daniel Snyder (seen in above photo), plans to formalize its discussions over the nickname, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is also participating in these talks.
Social justice lemmings in the corporate world and politics are ratcheting up pressure on the Redskins to make the change they've long resisted. Washington plays its home games on FedEx Field in Maryland, and the corporate sponsor on Thursday formally requested the team "change its nickname."
Congressman Raul Grijalva, an Arizona socialist who chairs the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources, said the nickname is racist and added, "You either step into this century or you don't."
District of Columbia officials made it clear to Snyder, who said seven years ago he would "NEVER" adopt a new nickname, that he can't relocate the team there from Maryland without changing their nickname.
"The Time is Now for Redskins owner Dan Snyder to change the name," reads Nick Schwartz's USA Today headline. He says "pressure is mounting on Snyder to finally give in, even if he's only doing so for financial reasons." Schwartz cites a report from AdWeek that 87 investment firms sent joint letters to Nike, FedEx and PepsiCo to cut ties with Snyder's team until it changes its name.
USA Today's Steve Gardner was a long way from truthful when he said many Native Americans find the nickname offensive. Ninety percent do not.
Rivera says he and Snyder already have a couple new nicknames in mind. Social media has been flooded with suggestions for new nicknames, and one of Gardner's colleagues added some as well.
USA Today writer Tom Schad lists Redtails, Hogs and Warriors at the top of his list and Presidents, Lincolns and Arlingtons at the bottom.
Liz Clarke and Les Carpenter, of The Washington Post, report, "Multiple league officials said Snyder has no choice but to change a name that is offensive to many and is a dictionary-defined racial slur, but they added he is not coming to that decision easily."
In a separate story by Clarke, Rivera said he attended a Redskins' camp as a youth and could not fathom it as a racist name, but, "Now, putting it in perspective, there's been a change." Rivera says he believes Snyder is thinking the same way.
Yet another member of USA Today's social justice enforcers is Jace Evans. He writes that within hours of the Redskins' announcement, baseball's Cleveland Indians issued a similar statement about conducting an internal review. Also under siege from vocal minorities to change their name, the Indians' statement said, in part:
“We have had ongoing discussions organizationally on these issues. The recent social unrest in our community and our country has only underscored the need for us to keep improving as an organization on issues of social justice.
"With that in mind, we are committed to engaging our community and appropriate stakeholders to determine the best path forward with regard to our team name.”
The Tribe removed Chief Wahoo logos from their uniforms last year.
Aided by social justice warriors in the media, the stampede against Indian nicknames is on. The Atlanta Braves and Kansas City Chiefs are on the clock.
