Latest news with #Redskins
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Skip Bayless makes bizarre 'arrogant white person' claim as he weighs in on Trump's NFL Redskins controversy
Sports analyst Skip Bayless has performed a U-turn over Washington's NFL name change after Donald Trump 's demand to the franchise. Known as the Commanders since 2022, Washington's football team dropped the controversial 'Redskins' moniker five years ago amid uproar over the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. However, the president last week called for the franchise to return to its former divisive name in a baffling Truth Social rant. And Bayless, despite previously branding the 'Redskins' name 'racist', suggested he would embrace Trump's name change on one condition. 'If someone can conclusively demonstrate that a majority of tribal leaders across America are all for the return of Redskins and Indians as team nicknames, then I would be all for it,' Bayless said in a video shared to his X platform. 'We went through this a number of years ago back in my First Take days. Some tribal leaders would speak out pro and some would speak out con. I just don't know. But if you showed me that a consensus were now pro, you know, I'm just hoping this will at least spark a new wave of debate.' 'I'm hoping tribal leaders everywhere will just stand up and speak out on this starting now. Whatever their consensus opinion is, if there is a consensus, and maybe there isn't, but I'll stand behind the majority. Maybe I'm just being just another naively arrogant white person, but I must admit I do miss Washington DC's NFL team being called the Redskins,' he concluded. Bayless added earlier in his podcast that the 'Commanders' nickname 'sounds dumber than ever,' especially after quarterback Jayden Daniels led Washington to the NFC Championship game. The former Fox Sports host's argument was a major change in tune from his past opinions on the old moniker. However, he did still maintain that he believed the 'Redskins' name stirred controversy. 'To me, Redskins remains a racist nickname,' Bayless also said in the 12-minute clip. 'What if an NFL team had been nicknamed the "Blackskins"?' Bayless's remarks come after Trump claimed that there was a 'clamoring' for the 'Redskins' nickname to make a return. 'The Washington 'Whatever's' should IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team,' Trump wrote on social media. 'There is a big clamoring for this.' While Trump may be slightly off about the team name (they were the 'Washington Redskins' and then the 'Washington Football Team' but never the 'Washington Redskins Football Team'), he is right about uproar over the changes. The president took to social media last week to claimed there was a 'clamoring' for the change Fans and even some Native American groups have voiced support for the team's new ownership group to revert to 'Redskins.' Several public opinion polls of self-identified Native Americans have found most were not offended by the term, while critics have pointed to academic research by the University of Michigan and UC Berkeley that found the opposite was true. Trump appeared to reference the public polling in favor of a name change last weekend. 'Our great Indian people, in massive numbers, want this to happen,' he claimed. 'Their heritage and prestige is systematically being taken away from them. Times are different now than they were three or four years ago. We are a Country of passion and common sense. OWNERS, GET IT DONE!!!' He also demanded the same from MLB's Cleveland Guardians, née: 'Indians.' 'Likewise, the Cleveland Indians, one of the six original baseball teams, with a storied past,' he wrote. It's unclear where Trump is getting 'six original baseball teams' from. The NHL famously has six original teams and MLB's National League was once limited to a half dozen clubs. However, the Guardians franchise is in the American League, where it has been known as the Broncos, Naps and Indians before adopting its current moniker in 2022. Of course, 'Indians' is not quite the same as 'Redskins' – a traditionally pejorative term detested by some Native Americans and tolerated by others. Trump later underlined his demands on social media, writing in a second post: 'My statement on the Washington Redskins has totally blown up, but only in a very positive way. 'I may put a restriction on them that if they don't change the name back to the original 'Washington Redskins,' and get rid of the ridiculous moniker, 'Washington Commanders,' I won't make a deal for them to build a Stadium in Washington. 'The Team would be much more valuable, and the Deal would be more exciting for everyone. Cleveland should do the same with the Cleveland Indians. The Owner of the Cleveland Baseball Team, Matt Dolan, who is very political, has lost three Elections in a row because of that ridiculous name change. 'What he doesn't understand is that if he changed the name back to the Cleveland Indians, he might actually win an Election. Indians are being treated very unfairly. MAKE INDIANS GREAT AGAIN (MIGA)!' NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Commanders owner Joshua Harris met Trump at the Oval Office in May to announce plans to bring the league's draft to the National Mall in 2027. Washington was selected as draft hosts just days after DC mayor Muriel Bowser announced a plan to bring the team back to the city with a new field on the site of the old RFK Stadium, where the team then known as the Redskins played until 1996. Currently, RFK Stadium stands on the site on the banks of the Anacostia River in the eastern part of the city. The building has been in the process of a prolonged demolition that has been delayed multiple times. The building was closed back in September 2019, but structural demolition has only begun this year. It hasn't just been the name that led to division among Native Americans. A year ago, the family of the man depicted in the former Redskins logo urged the team to bring his image back to the helmet after years of controversy over the image. A football and a jersey sit on top the Resolute desk in the office of President Donald Trump as he announces a plan to bring the NFL Draft to the National Mall in the spring of 2027 'The fans want him back and we want him back,' Thomas White Calf, a great nephew of late Blackfeet Nation chief John Two Guns White Calf, told Fox News after meeting with Senator Steve Daines (Republican, Montana ). Thomas' pleas came four years after the team began its rebranding, first becoming the Washington Football Team on a temporary basis before adopting 'Commanders' and dropping the feathered John Two Guns White Calf emblem. 'Our ancestor was the most famous and most photographed native in history,' Thomas told Fox alongside his mother, Delphine White Calf, a niece of the late Blackfeet chief. 'Two Guns was also the face on the Indian head nickel. I'm proud of him. The Blackfeet are proud of him.' The club began as the Boston Braves in 1932 before changing its name to 'Redskins' a year later and moving to the US Capital in 1937. But it wasn't until 1971 that Blackfeet leader Blackie Wetzel created a portrait of John Two Guns White Calf that ultimately became the team's logo.
USA Today
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Commanders to induct legendary wide receiver Santana Moss into Ring of Fame
A big surprise for Tana to end today's live show 💛 Before Terry McLaurin in Washington, there was Santana Moss. Criminally underrated, model citizen, beloved by teammates, coaches, and fans, not a diva, and never having sustained quality quarterback play. Now, the team is honoring Moss. Moss, who works for the team's broadcast crew, was surprised by fellow broadcast partner and team legend Brian Mitchell. During Washington's Week 1 game against the New York Giants, the Commanders will induct Moss into the franchise's Ring of Fame. Here's Moss learning the news from Mitchell: A first-round pick of the New York Jets in the 2001 NFL draft, the Redskins traded disgruntled wide receiver Laveranues Coles to the Jets for Moss ahead of the 2005 season. Coles initially began his career with the Jets, but signed with Washington as a free agent in 2003. He was unhappy in Joe Gibbs' offense and wanted out. Washington then made one of the best trades in franchise history, sending Coles to the Jets in a straight-up deal for Moss. In only his second game for the Redskins, Moss caught two late fourth-quarter touchdowns to shock the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football. His legendary status with the franchise was already cemented. Moss would play 10 seasons in the burgundy and gold, catching 581 passes for 7,867 yards and 47 touchdowns. He finished his 14-year NFL career with 732 receptions, 10,283 yards and 66 touchdowns. Congratulations to Santana Moss!
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Trump says new stadium deal depends on NFL team reverting to old, offensive name
US President Donald Trump has said he may block a stadium deal for the Washington Commanders unless the NFL team returns to its previous name, the Redskins a term many Native Americans have long said is offensive. In a message posted on Truth Social, Trump said there was a 'big clamouring' for the team to go back to its old name. 'If they don't change the name back to the original Washington Redskins and get rid of the ridiculous moniker Washington Commanders, I won't make a deal for them to build a stadium in Washington,' he wrote, according to the BBC. He added that the team 'would be much more valuable' if it reverted to the name it used until 2020. The Commanders dropped the Redskins name following years of pressure from Native American groups and a broader conversation around racism in sport. For the 2020 season, they were called the Washington Football Team before rebranding as the Commanders in 2022. In April, a £3 billion plan was announced to build a new 65,000-seat stadium on the site of RFK Stadium, the team's former home. The BBC reported that local politicians were being urged to fast-track the approval process. Trump has made similar demands of other sports teams. He said Major League Baseball's Cleveland Guardians should return to their former name, the Cleveland Indians. 'Our great Indian people, in massive numbers, want this to happen,' he claimed. 'Their heritage and prestige is systematically being taken away from them.' But Native American leaders and researchers strongly disagree. Mark Macarro, president of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), told the Associated Press (AP) that Trump's comments ignore research showing the harm caused by Native-themed mascots. 'We have our studies, we have our receipts, and we can demonstrate that this causes real harm,' he said. Macarro said the current administration's stance was 'a big reminder that we're going to take some backward steps.' According to experts cited by AP, Native mascots have been linked to higher rates of depression, self-harm and substance abuse among Native American children. The American Psychological Association has called for the removal of Native mascots since 2001. Dr Steph Cross, a psychology professor at the University of Oklahoma and a citizen of the Comanche Nation, said the issue is not just about people being offended. 'That's a symptom,' she said. 'The bigger problem is how these mascots shape bias even among those who work with Native children.' Stephanie Fryberg, a psychologist at Northwestern University and a member of the Tulalip Tribes, added: 'Honouring Native peoples means ending dehumanisation in both imagery and policy.' While some teams have changed their names, others have resisted. The NFL's Kansas City Chiefs and the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks continue to use Native references, though the Chiefs have banned fans from wearing headdresses and face paint at games. They have not stopped the 'tomahawk chop,' a chant critics say is disrespectful. However, BBC also reported that more than 1,500 schools across the US still use Native-themed mascots. Some states such as New York, Oregon, and Washington have passed laws banning them, but efforts to do so in other places, including Illinois, have stalled. The US Department of Education recently opened an investigation into a school district in New York that is retiring its Native-themed mascot. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said, 'It is neither legal nor right to prohibit Native American mascots while celebrating European and other cultural imagery in schools.' Experts also point to how Native Americans are taught in schools. Sarah Shear, a professor at the University of Washington, said that most US students only learn about Native people in a historical context, before 1900. 'I'm not surprised that Trump and others keep saying these mascots are tributes, when the curriculum never challenges those ideas,' she told AP. The Washington Commanders have not yet commented, BBC Sport reported.
CTV News
3 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Trump's demand for Washington NFL team name change ignores years of psychological data, experts say
Native American leaders protest against the Redskins team name and logo outside U.S. Bank Stadium before an NFL football game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Washington Redskins in Minneapolis on Oct. 24, 2019. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn, File) U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening to hold up a new stadium deal if Washington's NFL team did not restore its name to a racial slur, despite decades of psychological research showing the negative mental health impacts of Native American mascots. The president is demanding a private company change its name to something that researchers have linked to a variety of negative mental health outcomes, particularly for children, said Mark Macarro, president of the National Congress of American Indians. The organization has been pushing back on stereotypes of Native Americans since the 1950s, including Native sports mascots. 'This is a big reminder with this administration that we're going to take some backward steps,' Macarro said. 'We have our studies, we have our receipts, and we can demonstrate that this causes real harm.' More than two decades of research on Native mascots have shown they lead to heightened rates of depression, self-harm, substance abuse and suicidal ideation among Indigenous peoples, and those impacts are the greatest on children. Citing this data, the American Psychological Association has been recommending the retirement of Native mascots since 2001. The president believes that franchises who changed their names to 'pander to the Woke Left' should immediately restore their original names,' White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said in a statement to The Associated Press. 'Thanks to President Trump, the days of political correctness and cancel culture are over,' he said. Some teams change names while others resist Under pressure from decades of activism, the Washington Redskins — a racial slur and arguably the most egregious example — retired the name in 2020, eventually settling on the Commanders. Later that year, the Cleveland Indians changed its name to the Guardians. Two major league teams, the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs and the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks, continue to resist calls to change their names. The Chiefs have banned fans from wearing headdresses or face paint meant to depict Native Americans at games but has resisted prohibiting the use of the 'tomahawk chop', which critics have long called derogatory. More than 1,500 grade schools across the country — a decrease over the past few years — still use Native mascots, according to the National Congress of American Indians, using names like 'Savages' as well as the slur that Trump aims to bring back to the Washington team. Experts say Native mascots reinforce racial bias Native American people, activists, and leaders have been asking for the retirement of Native mascots for generations. Popular arguments defending the mascots have been that they 'honour' Native people or that it simply boiled down to people being 'offended,' said Steph Cross, a professor of psychology and researcher at the University of Oklahoma and a citizen of the Comanche Nation. But now we have decades of data that agrees on the negative mental health impacts, she said. 'Being offended is not even really the problem. That's a symptom,' Cross said. She noted that Native mascots aren't just harmful to Indigenous peoples, they also reinforce racial prejudices among non-Natives, including people who will work directly with Native people like health care professionals and teachers. 'I think about these people who are going to be working with Native children, whether they realize that or not, and how they may unintentionally have these biases,' Cross said. Stephanie Fryberg, a professor at Northwestern University, who is a member of the Tulalip Tribes and one of the country's leading researchers on Native mascots, said, 'The ultimate impact, whether conscious or unconscious, is bias in American society.' Her work has also shown Native mascots increase the risk of real psychological harm, especially for young Native people. 'Honoring Native peoples means ending dehumanization in both imagery and policy,' she said. 'Indian Country needs meaningful investment, respect, and the restoration of federal commitments, not more distractions or excuses for inaction.' Several states pass Native mascot bans In recent years, several states — including Maine, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, and New York — have passed laws or issued directives that ban or require districts to change Native mascots. A law prohibiting them in Illinois stalled this year in the state Senate. The Trump administration has interjected into other efforts to change Native mascots. This month, the U.S. Department of Education launched an investigation into a Long Island public school district working to retire its Native American-themed mascot. 'The Department of Education has been clear with the state of New York: it is neither legal nor right to prohibit Native American mascots and logos while celebrating European and other cultural imagery in schools,' said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. When it comes to grade schools specifically, the negative impacts on children's mental health is compounded by the fact that U.S. history standards largely ignore Indigenous history and rarely frame Native Americans as modern people, said Sarah Shear, a professor and researcher at the University of Washington. In 2015, she was part of a study that found 87% of schools in the U.S. teach about Native Americans in only a pre-1900 context. That hasn't improved much in the decade since the study, Shear said. Most curriculum also doesn't present the arguments against harmful stereotypes, like Native Mascots. 'Just on the standards documents alone,' Shear said, 'I'm not surprised that Trump and other folks continue to advocate that these mascots are celebratory when they're not.' Graham Lee Brewer, The Associated Press
Bloomberg
4 days ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
The President Has Forgotten How to Talk Football
When President Donald Trump demanded that the Washington Commanders change their name back to the Redskins — a slur that the team dropped as a moniker in 2020 — it should have surprised no one. Not only because he's shown that he can't resist a culture war skirmish, but because for decades, the nation's most popular sport has been leveraged by presidents to bolster their standings. During his first term, Trump knew the play. He ran it successfully against NFL players who knelt during the National Anthem.
