Photo by Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images
Most people still don’t think the Washington football team should change their name, according to a new Public Policy Polling poll.
In their annual NFL poll, PPP asked people whether or not they think Washington should “change their nickname,” to which 18 percent thought they should and an overwhelming 71 percent of those polled thought they shouldn’t change their name. Eleven percent weren’t sure.
The poll, PPP says, surveyed 741 registered voters between December 13 and 17, and has a margin of error of +/- 3.6 percent. In response, Oneida Indian Nation spokesman Joel Barkin said that “This flawed poll conveniently leaves out that fact that the R-word is a defined racial slur, and it fails to mention that a diverse coalition of Native American organizations, civil rights groups, public health organizations, religious leaders and sports icons have been joined by governors, the D.C. Council, Republican and Democratic Members of Congress and even the President of the United States in saying that now is the time for the mascot to change. Neither the Washington team nor its owner appears to understand that there is no poll or financial transaction that can solve a moral problem.”
A May Associated Press poll found that 79 percent of people didn’t want Washington to change its name, with the same percentage of fans telling that to the Washington Post in June.
Before the start of this season, the Oneida Indian Nation launched a massive radio campaign urging Washington owner Dan Snyder to change the team’s name. Since then, several politicians and personalities have come out in favor of the changing the team’s name.
The PPP poll also revealed something about most people’s perception of certain NFL teams, particularly the one in Dallas: The Cowboys aren’t, in fact, America’s Team. The poll found that only 23 percent of people think they deserve that label. And, the Cowboys took first place as America’s least favorite team, raking in 23 percent of the votes in that regards.
