Washington Redskins to Washington Redtails?

The long-simmering debate about whether the name “Redskin,” for the Washington Redskins football team, is racist and should be changed may soon enter a new chapter.

Independent Washington, D.C Councilman David Grosso wants to put forth a non-binding resolution urging that the name “Redskins” become “Redtails.” This, he says, will not only take away a racist term but will bestow honor upon the Tuskegee Airman, a pioneering group of African-American fighter pilots during World War II.

According to the resolution: “District residents and their elected representatives should not tolerate commercial or other use of derogatory terminology relating to any people’s racial identity, or which dishonors any person’s race, or which dishonors the name Washington.” Reportedly the resolution has the support of two other council members.

However, it appears that Grosso will be fighting an uphill battle. An Associated Press poll showed a majority of Americans favors keeping the name Redskins.

A groundswell of support for “Redskins” is also beginning to emerge from people who say that this messes with the team’s long and proud history, going all the way back to the 1930s. The ones who are pushing for the name change are exactly those folks who keep the whole debate about racism in our society alive, they say.

Team officials have long dismissed the idea that the name Redskins is racist.

While there is some validity in the idea that a name change would affect the team’s history, in baseball the Brooklyn Dodgers were called the Robins for several years, the Boston Braves were called the Bees, and the New York Yankees began life as the Highlanders. Nobody has ever had a problem distinguishing the history of those teams, so it seems that a name change to Redtails would not have too great an impact.

However, this is a story that’s been around for a while, and this certainly isn’t the final chapter.

How do you feel about it?