Photo by Dennis Brack-Pool/Getty Images.
Over the weekend, President Obama sat down for an interview with the Associated Press and spoke briefly about the controversy surrounding the Washington football team’s name.
“Obviously, people get people very attached to team names, mascots, and I don’t think any [Washington football team] fans mean offense,” Obama said to the AP. “But I’ve got to say, if I were the owner of the team, and I knew that its name—even if it had a storied history—that was offending a sizable group of people, I’d think about changing it.”
Obama’s remarks come at a pivotal time as today, there will be a critical symposium—organized by the Oneida Indian Nation—on the Washington football team’s name at the very same place where the NFL will be having its fall meeting. In a press release, Oneida Indian Nation Representative Ray Halbritter says that “as the first sitting president to speak out against the Washington team name, President Obama’s comments are truly historic.” He also calls out Washington football team owner Dan Snyder, urging him to listen to President Obama’s comments. “President Obama’s comments today add momentum to our campaign to get the NFL to urge Washington owner Daniel Snyder to change the Washington team’s name. The NFL and Snyder should borrow a page from the President and use the changing of the football team’s name as a teachable moment.”
“Native Americans feel pretty strongly about it,” Obama said, “and I don’t know whether our attachment to a particular name should override the real, legitimate concern that people have about these things.”
Washington football team attorney Lanny Davis (remember him?) said in a statement to the AP, “We at the [Washington football team] respect everyone. But like devoted fans of the Atlanta Braves, the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago Blackhawks (from President Obama’s home town ), we love our team and its name and, like those fans, we do not intend to disparage or disrespect a racial or ethnic group. The name “Washington [football team]” is 81 years old – it’s our history and legacy and tradition. We [Washington football team] fans sing ‘hail to the [football team]’ every Sunday as a word of honor not disparagement.”
