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Washington Redskins Name Controversy

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“Our true nationality is mankind.” (HG Wells) The Washington Redskins are a football team. Their name is controversial because some people believe that it’s racist towards Native Americans, while others believe that the name should be left alone. Although it’s true that about 20% of Native Americans find the name racist, the other 80% of Native Americans don’t think it’s racist at all. The most powerful argument to protect the Redskins name is because most Native Americans are proud to be named after the football team in honor of their determination and integrity. An example to support this position is when in a letter to fans, the team’s owner, Don Syder defends his decision to not change the name when he says “it is a symbol of everything we stand for: strength, courage, pride, and respect.” (Crowe, 2013) This example shows that the name is simply showing the eminence of the Natives. Furthermore, another example of the Native Americans pride is when Kim Stronzier, a superintendent of Gonzales school, send an email that says the district is “honored to be known as the ‘might apaches.’” Being known as “mighty” is a proud name to be called. …show more content…

An example to support this position is when Suarez, a Redskins fan, says “our culture has gotten to the point where every single itsy bitsy thing can be turned offensive by somebody.” (Crowe, 2013) This example shows that our society is going completely downhill. Furthermore, another example of the protection of the Redskins name is how traditional the name already is. Macarena Hernandez, a humanities professor at the University of Houston-Victoria said “if the majority of the fans were Native American, the team’s owner would have changed the name long ago.” Macarena explains that if the name was a huge problem, it would’ve already been

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