Activist on Redskins name change: 'to watch a blatantly racist thing go away' is a victory

Record ID: 1562046

  • Title: Activist on Redskins name change: 'to watch a blatantly racist thing go away' is a victory
  • Date: 13th July 2020
  • Summary: PINE RIDGE INDIAN RESERVATION, PORCUPINE, SOUTH DAKOTA, UNITED STATES (JULY 13, 2020) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) NICK TILSEN, A CITIZEN OF THE OGLALA LAKOTA NATION AND PRESIDENT AND CEO OF NDN (SLANG/SHORTHAND TERM FOR "INDIAN") COLLECTIVE, SAYING: "It's been a long time coming. Indigenous people have been fighting this, for a long time and pushing the Redskins, and pushing the NFL (National Football League) for a long time, to change its name. And so, today is a day of victory for indigenous people."
  • Embargoed: 27th July 2020 22:29
  • Keywords: Indian Native American Redskins Washington indigenous race
  • Location: VARIOUS
  • City: VARIOUS
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Race Relations / Ethnic Issues,Society/Social Issues,Sport
  • Reuters ID: LVA003CMN8P53
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:Native Americans are cheering the decision announced on Monday (July 13) by the Washington Redskins football team to retire its name and logo, which is widely seen as a racial slur.
    "As an indigenous person, to watch a blatantly racist thing go away and no longer be valid, is a day of victory," said Nick Tilsen, a citizen of the Oglala Lakota Nation and president of an organization which focuses on indigenous rights.
    "Today, we are announcing we will be retiring the Redskins name and logo upon completion of this review," the team said in a statement.
    The team did not provide a timeline for when the review would be completed. Its statement did not specify a reason for the name change.
    Critics have ramped up pressure on the team to change its name, amid the nationwide reckoning on racism and police brutality triggered by the May 25 death of a Black man named George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis.
    While indigenous groups have protested the name of several major athletic teams for decades, Tilsen believes the increased awareness of the Black Lives Matter movement has created a climate conducive to massive change.
    "The NFL did not change and investors did not change without pressure," Tilsen said.
    In June, a group of more than 80 socially minded investment firms, collectively with more than $620 billion in assets under management, urged FedEx, Nike Inc. and PepsiCo Inc. to terminate relationships with the team unless it changed its name.
    "It's not just about this racist mascot or a racist name. That dehumanizes us. That dehumanization has a direct relationship to the challenges and the injustices" experienced by Native Americans and Black Americans, said Tilsen.
    The National Congress of American Indians said in a statement on Monday: "We commend the Washington NFL team for eliminating a brand that disrespected, demeaned, and stereotyped all Native people, and we call on all other sports teams and corporate brands to retire all caricatures of Native Americans that they use as their mascots."
    Tilsen called on teams including the Kansas City Chiefs, Cleveland Indians, the Atlanta Braves and the Chicago Blackhawks to follow the example set by Washington's football team.
    "Don't wait for people to knock down your door to do the right thing, he said, adding, "it is probably the best thing for your brand. It's probably best thing for your league."
    Washington's football team has won three Super Bowls and is one of the NFL's marquee franchises, ranked by Forbes last September as the league's seventh most valuable franchise at $3.4 billion.
    In June, a memorial to the team's founding owner, George Preston Marshall, who fought against the racial integration of the NFL, was removed from RFK Stadium, the team's former home in Washington.
    The NFL did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the team's announcement.
    (Production: Gershon Peaks and Deborah Gembara)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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