The Washington Redskins give up their name and logo. It was high time, will proclaim those who believe that it was clearly a racist and offensive image for the Amerindian communities. Bullshit, say those who rather believe that this decision represents the pinnacle of rectitude.
• Read also: NFL: Redskins drop their name
In short, it was impossible to win this battle in public opinion. The NFL team reluctantly got rid of the name it had been carrying since 1933, because the money finally spoke. All the popular pressure in the world would never have moved the owner of the franchise, Dan Snyder, an iota.
But when big names like FedEx, Nike and Pepsi said they wouldn’t be involved with the team without a name and image change, the boat took to the water in no time.
A few days after a supposed great introspection, the franchise announced the inevitable.
Snyder has argued since acquiring the club in 1999 that the term “Redskin” is meant to be a tribute to Native American communities. However, they began to express their dissatisfaction years ago with this pejorative nickname.
FUNNY ANNOUNCEMENT
You have to see the official press release issued by the team to understand how this great upheaval seems to be greeted with the same joy as a hole in the forehead.
The organization has indeed revealed that it would make a name and logo change, through its Twitter account bearing the name and logo of the Redskins. The same name and logo are then clearly visible at the top of the press release.
And what about the message! Not once, but twice, the press release mentions that we must keep and make proud “our sponsors, our supporters and the community”.
Such messages are usually over-treated. Each word and its place in a sentence are dissected by a public relations team. Talking about sponsors long before the community says it all. In no case did the team mention the Amerindians.
It’s a bit as if, outside of the field like this, the organization can no longer hit the bull’s eye. In this sense, starting from scratch can only do the greatest good.
LITTLE WINNERS
The team therefore loses in terms of image because it has chosen to act once its back to the wall, with no escape route possible.
She also loses because she will be labeled lax after having sworn for many years that the name will never change.
Supporters of change also feel that they are losing because the team’s intentions do not seem noble enough. Supporters of the status quo lose because they believe that the fall of this name and logo that they did not consider offensive is an excess of conformism.
Native American communities who say they have been injured by the team’s name and logo for years can be seen as the only winners following this announcement.
It is certainly a small step in the right direction, but it will take more than the forced change of the name of a sports team to harmonize a relationship tainted for centuries.
–
