The Washington Code Talkers

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After all these years, my team, the Washington Redskins are very probably changing their name.  According to ESPN, their coach, Ron Rivera:

>>>>>

told the (Washington) Post it is important that a new nickname respects Native American culture and traditions, while also saluting the military. Rivera is the son of an Army officer.
 

<<<<<

I'm curious what they settle on.  It sounds like they still plan on incorporating Native American iconography, which seems to be a sensitive area for some.  It has been reported that the Cleveland Indians are examining their name.  They already stopped using the Chief Wahoo image on their uniforms.  
 

The name Indians doesn't seem any more offensive than the Atlanta Braves, Kansas City Chiefs, Chicago Blackhawks or Golden State Warriors.   Are people of Scandinavian descent offended by the name Minnesota Vikings?  Is the movement to sanitize all brands an overdue reckoning or a bridge too far?  
 

I went to Mount Vernon High School.  Will someone complain that they are traumatized going to school at a place named after a plantation?  I'd hope not, as Mount Vernon is a fascinating exhibit and educational display of Colonial living, and is the most visited home in the country.   It's better to teach history and learn it's lessons than to sweep it under the rug and pretend it never happened.

The Redskins will change their name, but they will forever be known as the team formerly known as the Redskins, much like how Richmond, Virginia will always be known as the former capitol of the Confederacy once all their statues are removed.  History can't be erased, just studied.  

Butthurt over the unimportant things

My high school team was named the Trojans. I always thought it was weird to name a team after a condom.

>>The Redskins will change their name, but they will forever be known as the team formerly known as the Redskins<<
 

Only as much as the Astros are known as the former colt 45's, or the OKC thunder as the Sonics, or the ravens as the team "formerly known as the colts".

for the first five years or so, perhaps.

codetalkers might work

Washington Swamp Creatures seems appropriate.

Washington Federals?   The renaming is being driven by he political/economic pressure corporate sponsors FedEX & PepsiCO are under.

Washington Generals?  but they were the doormats of the Harlem Globetrotters ,so unlikely...

Um, the Ravens were the Browns. 
 

The Redskins were established in 1932, so the brand is much more established than the Colt 45's was, which only got used for a couple of years.  Eventually, the name will be a distant memory, but it will take time, and a generation or four dying out.  The Browns left their name in Cleveland, just like the Sonics left their name with Seattle.  There will be a Seattle Sonics again.   The Clippers used to be the Buffalo Braves, but no one really talks about that, so you may have a point.  However, it probably has more to do with the fact that the Braves/Clippers have never won any titles.  The Redskins have won five NFL titles, the last three being Super Bowls.  Those aren't as easily forgotten.

The Federals was the name of Washington's team in the USFL.  I doubt the Redskins will go there.  It doesn't incorporate the Native American aspect that Rivera cited.  The Scouts is another name that might work, but I like Code Talkers better.  The Washington Wampum would be pretty funny.  If they ditch the Native American references, The Hogs has obvious appeal.

 

>The Redskins will change their name, but they will forever be known as the team formerly known as the Redskins<<

 

I sometimes slip and call the wizards the Washington Bullets. 

 

The Washington Lobbyists

 

sultan.png

our high school mascot

>> those aren't as easily forgotten. <<

By who? Certainly not Eagles and Giants fans. Redskins have been basement dwellers since the Reagan admin.

Hopefully someone can tweek the words to "Hail To The Redskins" a little and the song hangs around, although Lance will undoubtedly flip out over "Hail To The Talkers".

Washington Bullets

Seriously Ned, fuck the Eagles and Giants fans.  It's the people who either grew up and/or still live in and around D.C. that we're talking about.  It's a quasi-religious and sacred subject for those of us.  Pretty much everyone from D.C. is a Redskins fan.  We're doing the right thing, show some fucking respect. 

 

 > We're doing the right thing, show some fucking respect. <

 

Fuck the Redskins. Had many chances to do the right thing. Are they definitely changing the name, or are they considering the idea?

"Code Talkers" will still get push back as cultural appropriation.

Names like the "Pioneers," "Colonials," "Rough Riders," or anything else that relates to pre-20th Century white people will also be problematic.

Best to stick with animals. Although most of the fierce ones have already been taken, the "Washington Piranhas" has a nice ring to it.

I also think the "Washington Monuments" would be funny, especially if they had a dancing obelisk as their mascot.  

>>>>>Are people of Scandinavian descent offended by the name Minnesota Vikings?  Is the movement to sanitize all brands an overdue reckoning or a bridge too far?  

There are calls in Iceland to remove a statue of a 10th Century Viking king because he kept Irish slaves.

just make them the red team.

we already have a brown team.

just make them the red team.

we already have a brown team.

All sports teams should get new names from skilled Marketing Toddlers.

"Fuzzy Poo - Poo Bunnies" and the like.

"Cleveland Brown Poopies"  has strong Marketing potential.

"Code Talkers" will still get push back as cultural appropriation.

Names like the "Pioneers," "Colonials," "Rough Riders," or anything else that relates to pre-20th Century white people will also be problematic.<<<<
 

Goodbye 49ers.

 

Long Beach State dropped 49ers. 

The Browns were founded by Paul Brown, so that one stays.  
 

 

quasi-religious and sacred<<
 

Ha.  Fuck that noise.

 

Texas Rangers is problematic.

I can guarantee you that that more people tune into Redskins games than go to church in D.C. on any given Sunday the Skins are playing.

what about the chicarones?

Will New Orleans Mardi Gras Indian tradition be allowed to continue?  The history celebrates the influence and traditions of the Native Americans in the region, including the history of sheltering run-away slaves, but the reality is it's a bunch of inner-city black men dressing up as Indians, which feels like at least as much cultural appropriation as these other names being discussed.

Let us know when the NOLA folks use a slur to sum up the entire tradition.

 

 

The Washington Traffic 

The Gridlock would be more appropriate.

Let us know when the NOLA folks use a slur to sum up the entire tradition.<<<
 

https://www.historyonthenet.com/authentichistory/diversity/african/3-coo...

I'd go with the "Washington Destroyers".

Logo: a battleship morphed into a helmet. 

Wrong NOLA folks, Dave.  But you knew that.

 

>>> Best to stick with animals. <<<

My high school mascot was the Wombat. It was a very small Friends school of weirdo "outcasts", it was the second year of the school's existence and someone thought we should have a mascot. Wombats seemed weird and peaceful enough.

 

The Washington Native Americans. 

Washington Imperialists

snyder did some trademarking around the name Warriors some time ago and then would be a leader in the clubhouse for me.  I also like Redtails paying homage to the Tuskegee Airmen.

none of this changes the narrative that my beloved team from the District of Columbia has been a total shitshow since danny boy bought the team.  fucking reverse carwash... go in clean and come out dirty.  its gonna take more then a name change to get fans to show up at that horrible stadium and guess what, the same would apply to a new stadium built anywhere in the DC metro area.

the redski....rrrrrr.. team from DC has some proving to do back to its fanbase before they have another true home game again no matter what you call em and where they play there games at

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/sports/washington-s-nfl-team-retires-name-l...

RIP to the Redskins.  Interested to see what they choose to go with.  Washington Post sports columnist Michael Wilbon had been lobbying for them to keep the name and just change the logo to a redskin potato (aka a "new potato").  That's not happening.  
 

A part of my childhood died today.  Will people think bad of me if I wear my old Redskins gear?

The Redskins are dead,  Hail to the Redskins!

 

I blame the Braves and that god damm tomahawk chop,,, that if I never hear again it would still be too soon. It makes you insane as well as look insane. Now no more what, redskins ? Oh f this shit. So long Cleveland Indians too ?  Stop world,  I'm gettin off here

I'm sure they can pick up the trademark on the cheap. Has my vote.

59d1d3165af2db67e10776ad047f719b.jpg

They're ditching the name but keeping the chop

How about Washington Vultures?

Mardi Gras is by its very essence a saturnalia and therefore rules should not be respected, including rules about what is offensive and what is not. Like showing your dick in public, for example, and then turning around and puking in someone's planter.

Far as I know American Scandinavians have never been victims of a deliberate genocide in this country, so that's a pretty bad example. Besides, what is the equivalent offensive term for a Scandinavian person? Is there one that carries as much hate, history and pain as the term 'Red Skin'?

 

And I grew up around DC and the Redskins fucking suck...

Wrong Nancy.  The Redskins fans never did the chop.  That's the Atlanta Braves and Florida State Seminoles thing.  The Braves announced yesterday that they will discontinue the Tomahawk chop but keep their name.

I'm okay with the name Redskins being retired.  It's clearly perceived as a slur by some, and there's no need for that baggage.  I don't as easily understand why the Cleveland Indians are seriously considering changing their name.  Is calling First Nations people Indians a slur?  Is the goal of a post-racial cancel culture to completely disregard someone's racial characteristics as identifiers?  It seems a little short-sighted.

 

Calling someone a Swedish Meatball is the closest I can think of as a Scandinavian slur, but I don't think it really pissed off any Swedes.  At least, they are too polite to show any anger, and generally have a good sense of humor.  The Italians did get called Wops and Dagos (the Spaniards too).  You don't see Italian-Americans crying about how the Chef Boyardee brand oppresses them.

It's times like these where we really miss Don Rickles.

Navajo Code Talkers (448x500)_0.jpg

The Navajo Code Talkers had an Olympic pin. Without them, we might be talking German and be a hell of a lot less free. 

 I was watching CBS this morning and they were showing the Chop and discussing how the Braves would be changing their name but NOT the Chop, at least for now.

 

Probably because there's no way to get the ignorant fans to stop doing it. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can see it both ways when you group Indians with Eagles, Bears, Rams, and Seahawks then yeah the association isn't good, but there are also Patriots, Texans, and Cowboys so it could be seen as an honor. So in a case like this it is up to the Native Americans. They get to decide how their heritage is used.

All that said Redskins is straight up racist. You wouldn't name a team the Negros or the Crackers. 

 

Need more coffee..or a better news source perhaps. I was sure CBS said the opposite. Oh well..Good to see some changes happening, not that it matters because it's going to be a while before fans are back in the stands.

>>>>>we might be talking German and be a hell of a lot less free. 

 

Greatest respect to the CodeTalkers and all of my parents' generation that defeated the Nazis.

 

Now, I dunno. It's possible that there is more true freedom in Germany with Merkel at the helm than here under Herr Trump.

Yeah, I have some German neighbors and they are not happy visiting America (they've been here on work visas for a year) during Trump's failed Covid response and the rise in White Supremacy here. They will be returning to Germany sooner than planned. 

Madi cu defio, en dans dey, end dans day

Madi cu defio, en dans dey, end dans day

 

We are the Indians, Indians, Indians of the nation

The wild, wild creation

We won't bow down

Down on the ground

Oh how I love to hear him call Indian Red

 

I've got a Big Chief, Big Chief, Big Chief of the Nation

The wild, wild creation

He won't bow down

Down on the ground

Oh how I love to hear him call Indian Red

Washington Red Tails after Tuskegee Airmen 

Calling Trump the Chief Executive is a racial slur...

"You don't see Italian-Americans crying about how the Chef Boyardee brand oppresses them."

I don't know if Chef-Boy-Ardee is quite up there with systematic government backed genocide of an entire race of human beings, supported by a doctrine of Manifest Destiny. :)

The Cleveland Indians should change their name because why the hell are they called Inidans? First off, the term Indian is not used anymore except by Native Americans who use it the way that black people use the N word. Second off, I don't know of any other team named after an entire group of people. The New York Italians. The Boston Irish. The Minnesota Swedes. So why would you name a team after Indians?

Further, are there even any Native American football player, let alone an entire team of them? It's one thing to use a bear or an eagle as a mascot, a symbol of power, force. But to use an entire race is just to capitalize on some weird racist stereotype that people have in their heads. I would reckon most people in the US have never even met a Native American...

 

> I don't know of any other team named after an entire group of people.>

 

The Vancouver Canucks 

Actually the Native Americans invented the forward pass.

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10217979#:~:text=G...'s%20Carlisle%20Indians%20At%20the,boarding%20school%20for%20Native%20Americans.

The Minnesota Vikings.

Jim Thorpe was one of the greatest football players of all time.

Italian-Americans have often been the targets of systemic racism:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_14,_1891_New_Orleans_lynchings

My mother's maiden name was Italian.  She was prevented from rushing the sororities at Tulane University's women's college, Sophie Newcombe University because of her last name in the early 50's.   

Jim Plunkett won the Heisman Trophy with Stanford in 1970 and the Super Bowl in 1980 and 1983 with the Raiders.

Sonny Sixkiller (besides having one of the all-time greatest sports names) was the Washington Huskies starting QB for the three seasons he was eligible in the early 70s.

I would think that the 49ers name would fall under scrutiny given the further oppression it caused the Native American tribes in California and the abuse of the Chinese immigrant labor task force associated with the Gold Rush.

Now you're just arguing to pass the time if you genuinely believe that 49ers line. And ok, I'm not trying to downplay the discrimination Italian-Americans may have experienced for a brief window of time, but to put it on the same level as the genocide of Native Americans? You do know that millions of Native-Americans were murdered between the 16th and 20th century, right?

Oh. And there haven't been any vikings for like 800 years. I think that one's fair game.

They could name them after the politicians that inhabit their city and call 'em the Washington Assholes. Many variations and choices on that theme.

If they changed it to Foreskins, they could change "Hail to the Redskins" to "Hail to the Foreskins" and change the line about "Braves on the warpath" to "Mohels on the warpath".

 

Oh, aside from the Canucks, there's the Montreal Canadiens.  

 

How about the San Diego Padres? Is that one problematic?

you mean the people that enslaved californian indians to build their missions?

 

^Yeah, those guys

 

swinging friar.jpg

Looks like the Swinging Friar is sporting a wooden bat underneath his frock.  Must have had altar boys for bat boys that day.

Missionary Position.

 I like the Washington Bottom Feeders or Do Nothings. Double connotations with both. 

Of course there's always the Washington Freedom Fighters. Bwahahahaha!

The San Francisco Giants have to change their name. Little people feel degraded.

HAIL to the FTs does not have the same ring to it as the old fight song but at least its not gonna piss off the cancel culture

WTF is wrong with WFT!?

>>> at least its not gonna piss off the cancel culture<<<
 

who is that?

I'm gonna be very disappointed if I don't see a WTF? headline or two tomorrow.

if you have twitter and/or IG you know exactly "who" the cancel culture is

 

I don't.

that's why I'm asking you here

 

wait, does it have to do with Goya, the bean company?

 

So the team will be called simply "The Washington Football Team" for the time being:

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/washington-temporary-name-retiring-contro...

Same colors, no logo, and the helmets will have player numbers on them.

 >>>>hy the hell are they called Indians? First off, the term Indian is not used anymore except by Native Americans who use it the way that black people use the N word. 

Javs, in the United States, the term "Indian" has a legal meaning and its used almost exclusively in official federal and tribal documents and communications when referring to the collective of indigenous people in the continental United States ("Alaskan Native" is the official term for folks up in Alaska), so its not like black people calling themselves and each other the "N" word.  I worked in the Indian Country Environmental Justice Clinic in law school and on the first day, the director told us that "Native American is what non-Indians call Indians."   When I am talking about indigenous people, I try to use specific tribal names like Chinook, Navajo, etc., but "Indian" as used for the collective of tribal people is not really a slur.   Most Indians use the term interchangeably with "native" and "indigenous."    If you think about it, "Native American" is not much better because why would the people want to be named after a 15th Century Italian mapmaker?  And between the two, being named instead after a 15th Century Italian navigational error has a bit more irony to it.   

Of course, that doesn't mean its right to name a sports team after marginalized and exploited people, but just wanted to clear up how the specific term is used in the United States.

They're Indians because Columbus thought he was going to India.

Well colored is out too but the naacp doesn’t seem to realize it