Where can I get me a Cleveland Guardians tee-shirt? The Guardians, née Indians, are the new symbols of the Cleveland Baseball Team. But at least the Cleveland Baseball Team has a nickname, which makes that franchise better off than the Washington Football Team, née Redskins.
The Washington Football Team is simply The Washington Football Team.
Sad.
Virtue-signaling, indignant, intolerant progressives have triumphed in Washington, Cleveland and elsewhere, from Dartmouth to Duluth. And they’re far from done. Activists draw energy from activism. So their march continues.
How long can the Atlanta Brave hold out?
Or the Florida State Seminole? Never mind that FSU and the Seminole tribe have a partnership celebrating the Sunshine State’s Native American heritage. Virtue-signaling, morally enlightened liberals emotionalize the issue on their terms. If you disagree you are insensitive at best, or racist at worst.
Never mind that a Sports Illustrated survey discovered that 80% of Native Americans favored the use of Indian imagery by sports teams. But at countless dreary forums across the land—to include New Hampshire—we had to endure mostly white liberals condemning Indian symbology while Native Americans spoke in favor of retaining said symbols.
To most Native Americans the use of Indian symbology was a source of pride, a way to honor their indigenous heritage—the way that “Vikings” honor Scandinavian heritage or “Fighting Irish” honor Hibernian heritage.
To be sure, some Native American caricatures were “over-the-top.” So the Atlanta Braves’ Chief Noc-a-homa went away and images were redone. But intolerant progressives aren’t interested in compromise. They’re ideological bullies.
Now the preening virtue-signalers are going after the rather generic nickname “Warriors.” Where will it stop? Probably when every sports team has some amorphous, nebulous nickname like Blue Pride or Big Green. Or The Washington Football Team.
Where can I get me a Washington Football Team tee-shirt? It’s likely a plain monochrome burgundy color.
Probably just what the preening, virtue-signaling progressives wanted.
At least until they start getting offended by the color burgundy.
Sports Quiz
How did the Washington Redskins get their nickname? (Answer follows)
Born Today
That is to say, sports standouts born on Sept. 9 include former Fighting Irish and Washington Redskin quarterback Joe Theismann (1949).
Sports Quote
““Everyone who’s born in the Western Hemisphere is a Native American. We are all Native Americans.” —Oglala Sioux actor Russell Means
Sports Quiz Answer
The Washington Redskins started off as the Boston Braves in 1932, before becoming the Boston Redskins—which was more alliterative vis-à-vis the Red Sox. The football team shared Fenway Park with the Red Sox. The Boston Redskins would lose the 1936 NFL title game to the Green Bay Packers before moving to Washington in 1937.
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State Representative Mike Moffett was a Professor of Sports Management for Plymouth State University and NHTI-Concord. He co-authored the critically acclaimed and award-winning “FAHIM SPEAKS: A Warrior-Actor’s Odyssey from Afghanistan to Hollywood and Back” which is available on Amazon.com. His e-mail address is mimoffett@comcast.net.