January 31, 2014

NFL Commissioner Says Washington Football Team’s Name “Honors Native Americans,” Native Americans Disagree


During his pre-Super Bowl press conference Friday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was asked if he would ever call a Native American by the name of the Washington football team. Goodell hedged, instead saying the name has been “presented in a way that honors Native Americans.” (Goodell sent a letter to members of Congress last year defending the name.)

On Wednesday, ThinkProgress reporter Travis Waldron published an exhaustive account of the fight to rebrand the slur, revealing that the Washington team consulted with Republican advisers—including GOP messaging consultant Frank Luntz (of “death tax” fame), former George W. Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer (of Iraq War fame), and former Virginia governor and US senator George Allen (of “macaca” fame)—on how to handle criticism of the team’s name.

If Goodell, team owner Dan Snyder, and friends like Luntz, Fleischer, and Allen don’t understand the issue, they might want to take a look at an ad the National Congress of American Indians released Monday. Watch here:

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