Beautifully written letter. Let's hope this resides well throughout and not throw anymore fuel to the fire.
Nothing wrong with helping people. Has nothing to do with having a horrible, racist name. You can't name your team the N word and then make it OK by donating $$ to the NAACP.
Are you suggesting that by somehow twisting the narrative of the story, Snyder has turned a negative into a positive? The name is horribly offensive, and has no place in professional sports (or anywhere else for that matter). Why can't he change the name, and THEN create a foundation for Original Americans? It's a PR stunt through and through.
Nope, but there's a whole hell of a lot wrong with making money off a racial slur. I notice he relentlessly refers to "Native Americans" in this piece of public relations campaign literature. And has chosen to name his tax write-off the "Original Americans Foundation". Why use those words rather than the racial slur of which he's so proud?
Takes a lot of stones to do this. Takes even more to co-opt the word "nation" in this context to refer to a group of fans of a for-profit enterprise when that word has, in the context of Native Americans, been used to describe tribes and independent governance. If he's so proud of his team's name, why does he refer to them as Native Americans throughout the press release? Why does he ignore the racist origins of this team's name and its racist history?
^^ Correct No amount of PR, philanthropy, or otherwise kissing-ass will make the name OK. Nut-up and change the damn thing.
I don't see how the letter is so great or touching like OP states... then again the OP was at one time planning a trip to the Creation Museum.... but I digress... Concerning the letter and the name Redskins....... Snyder needs to just nut up and say he doesn't care if the name is offensive, it has been linked to the Washington football team for years and his fondness for it outweighs the damage or slight it does to native Americans. I don't personally care if he does or does not change it. When I think of "Redskins" I think of Joe Gibbs and football, not Native Americans.... but I can see why people would be offended.... Snyder is taking the weakest way out, trying to rewrite history and claim that it isn't and never was offensive.... it clearly was.
If anyone follows DC sports, helping out was something proposed years ago by pundits. Doesn't change that redskin roots as the term for the skinned head of a dead native american used to collect government payouts.
It's not a justification for the name. And even if it is, so what? Dan Snyder's doing more to help out people in need than you have probably ever done in your whole life. In the below article, activist Suzanne Shown Harjo says this, “[Snyder] can cry about high rates of suicides but he doesn’t begin to understand how he’s contributing to that and that this is a real matter of life and death,” she told ThinkProgress." All righty...so instead of blaming high Native American suicide rates on lack of education, poverty, or some other legitimate problems they face, she's going to blame it on the name of a sports team? Yeah, you know what? I'm totally on board with that. http://news.yahoo.com/redskins-owners-starts-charity-youll-forget-racist-team-061432710.html This whole "Redskins name change debate" makes me sick. So much fake outrage, self-righteousness, and so many people blindly following whatever the media says. And the media always goes the way of political correctness; thus, so do the American people. For those of you who think the name is racist but haven't done any research on your own, I suggest you find out exactly how the name came about and what it stands for. And don't bother to read anything by the Washington, D.C. media. They are the worst of the worst when it comes to cynicism and political correctness.
Why don't you do some research into the name and history of the Washington Redskins, including their founding owner George Marshall? Would you be comfortable with any other team having a slur for their name? Would you walk up to a Native American and casually call him a "redskin" to his face? There is no honor to "Redskins" and the team's deliberately racist history. And why are you defending Daniel Snyder at all? The man is usually regarded as one of the more despised owners in American sports. He's overly litigious, including suing 72-year-old fans. Why do you admire this stand?
Oh, if you by "how the name came about and what it stands for" you mean "a backstory of dubious verification regarding a coach who claimed to be Sioux in an era of false records and draft dodging" you would be correct. http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifes...358a76-466b-11e3-bf0c-cebf37c6f484_story.html
Wikipedia is generally not regarded as a reliable source. Just a heads up... Check this link out. http://www.coldhardfootballfacts.co...dskins-nfl-must-save-name-image-legacy/25861/ And as for you wondering why I support Dan Synder...there's two reasons: 1. Because he isn't caving in to pressure from all sides to change a "racist" name that he doesn't think is racist. He's sticking to what he believes, and not taking the easy way out. Not too hard to admire that. 2. He owns the Redskins, of which I am a die-hard fan.
Didn't I say too not bother with any of the D.C. media's articles? Outside of a few columnists, they are the leaders of cynicism and political correctness. Sally Jenkins, in particular, is terrible. I can't recall a single article off the top of my head that was positive toward the Redskins.
http://wtvr.com/2013/10/14/virginia-tribes-with-unusual-reaction-to-redskins-name-controversy/ Lack of education, poverty, sexual abuse, and many other huge issues, and people are focusing on the name of a sports team? Say it ain't so, Joe.
There is only one reason Snyder wants to keep the name: Money. The name is a decades-old brand. Racism be damned. Snyder probably doesn't have a single moral fiber in his body. He is nothing more than a greedy fool.
You do know that multiple external studies have verified the reliability of Wikipedia and that, as an organization, it strictly monitors the validity of its content, right? Please refute the racist history of George Marshall which, if you don't want to read it in the Washington Post, can be found here, here and, if you like books, here. Ah, there's the sticking point. You didn't answer my question: would you be fine with another major American team using an ethnic slur (or "referential term" if that's how you see it)? The San Francisco Chinamen? The New York Kikes? Other than you being a "diehard fan," why is Redskins fine? Dave Zirin's open letter to Dan Snyder is insightful: Or this piece from Slate, Washington Owner Dan Snyder's Cynical New Effort to Squelch the Controversy Over His Racist Team Name Why couldn't Dan Snyder call his new foundation the "Washington Redskins Original Redskins Foundation" if the term is a source of so much pride?