Sports Teams –What’s in a Name?

Some group of whiney self-appointed spokesmen for Native Americans has decided the Washington Redskins must change their name because they say it is offensive to name a team a derogatory term.

Just who gets to decide what is derogatory? Did they really decide to name the team to insult someone or to honor someone? Don’t you think they deliberately chose a name that denotes power and a winning attitude?  Would the Washington Wimps, Francisco Fumblers, Seattle Sea Slime, Kansas Klutzes, or New York Nerds have the same support as the current teams?

If I liked football I’d be happy for them to change it to Averett’s Avengers.  Unless they never win a game, having a team named for you is a compliment.  As usual I’ll bet this is about money. A large donation to the group would go a long way to de- derogatory-ing the name.

Business names (and sports teams are big business) are chosen for business reasons. They are carefully chosen because the success of the business depends on the name.   The last thing they want is a negative connotation.

I know a man who started a business and named it Dago.com. After spending thousands of dollars on set-up costs he found out that dago is considered a racist term and he had to change the name if he wanted to be successful.

Think about the current sports team names.

There are the “Fighting Irish” but not the “Drunken Irish.” There are “Chief’s” but not flunkies,  There are Giants and Titans but not Leprechauns or Little People, Colts but not mares, Ravens, Falcons and Eagles  but not sparrows, wrens and  hummingbirds , bears but not mice, Rams but not Ewes, Jets but not hang-gliders and Patriots but not Quislings, just to name a few.

If the Redskins are forced to change their name then there are a lot of other teams that are in trouble also.

We are also going to have to take a look at the Vikings, Buccaneers, Pirates and Raiders. Surely naming teams after groups known for pillaging and plundering isn’t politically correct.  Where is the empathy for their victims?

Something really has to be done about the “Browns.”  I have brown relatives and I have relatives named Brown and none of them approved the Cleveland Browns. This is clearly wrong and must be corrected.

And how about those Steelers? What about the auto workers or the people who make potato chips? Why isn’t there a Chicago Chipsters team?

In America the great thing about business is you and I get to decide if we are going to support them. We vote with our dollars.  If enough people think the Redskin’s name is offensive and don’t attend their games they will be forced to change to survive. That is the American way.

Letting a small group force a change is not freedom, it is oppression.  If they don’t like the name don’t support them.

None of us has the right to go through our lives without being offended.  In fact, being offended occasionally is probably good for us.

Just because you don’t like something isn’t a valid reason to force others to comply with your opinion.

Maybe if we leave other folks alone they’ll leave us alone.