The Washington Post Editorial Board Will No Longer Use the Word "Redskins" When Referring To The Name
WaPo – This page has for many years urged the local football team to change its name. The term “Redskins,” we wrote in 1992, “is really pretty offensive.” The team owner then, Jack Kent Cooke, disagreed, and the owner now, Daniel M. Snyder, disagrees, too. But the matter seems clearer to us now than ever, and while we wait for the National Football League to catch up with thoughtful opinion and common decency, we have decided that, except when it is essential for clarity or effect, we will no longer use the slur ourselves. That’s the standard we apply to all offensive vocabulary, and the team name unquestionably offends not only many Native Americans but many other Americans, too.
We were impressed this week by the quiet integrity of Mike Carey, who recently retired after 19 seasons as one of the NFL’s most respected referees. As recounted by Post columnist Mike Wise, Mr. Carey asked the league not to assign him to officiate any Washington games and, since 2006, the league granted his request. He never made any announcement about it. “It just became clear to me that to be in the middle of the field, where something disrespectful is happening, was probably not the best thing for me,” Mr. Carey said.
We don’t believe that fans who are attached to the name have racist feeling or intent, any more than does Mr. Snyder. But the fact remains: The word is insulting. You would not dream of calling anyone a “redskin” to his or her face. You wouldn’t let your son or daughter use it about a person, even within the privacy of your home. As Post columnist Charles Krauthammer wrote on the opposite page last year, “I wouldn’t want to use a word that defines a people — living or dead, offended or not — in a most demeaning way.”
What we are discussing here is a change only for editorials. Unlike our colleagues who cover sports and other news, we on the editorial board have the luxury of writing about the world as we would like it to be. Nor do we intend to impose our policy on our readers. If you write a letter about football and want to use the team name, we aren’t going to stop you.
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But as Mr. Carey noted, every time the R-word is used, something disrespectful is happening. We hope Mr. Snyder and the NFL will acknowledge that truth sooner rather than later. In the meantime, we’ll do our best not to contribute to the disrespect.
To be honest, I’m not even sure what the editorial board means. Sounds like some fancy journalist jargon that I didn’t get taught in blogging school. But regardless of what it means, it’s worth noting that some writers of one of the biggest newspapers in the country in the most powerful city in the world are going to stop using the word “Redskins”. Is it a big deal? I think so. Removing the team name from print, even if print is a dying media, is kinda big, right? It’s another straw on the camel’s back. No, the Post as a whole isn’t banning the word. The reporters and columnists can still use it, or not use it, as they please. But the Editorial Board decided to take their stand against it. And again, it’s another straw. It’s another leak in the dam to spark a flood. People are sheep. People are followers. Once one person takes this leap, other people will follow suit. The dominos are in motion. NFL referee Mike Carey asked in 2006 to not have to work Skins games. The time is soon where a broadcaster will stop saying it. The next domino will be sponsors pulling out and players deciding not to play for the Skins because of their name. That’s the last domino for me. When the team puts it’s dumb name over winning on the field, that’s when you change it. And it will happen, I have no doubt at this point.