Dan Snyder is a True Neanderthal; But Redskins Name is Doomed
By Ken Reed
So, the owner of the NFL’s Washington football club, Dan Snyder, says he’ll never change the nickname of his team. He’s made his stand. Never, of course, is a long time. Or not.
Remember, there never was going to be an African-American ballplayer in Major League Baseball as long as Kenesaw Mountain Landis was commissioner of the big leagues. Well, as we know, Branch Rickey and Jackie Robinson (with the help of unsung others) integrated baseball a short time later.
As a country, we have a long history of people saying “Never!” when it comes to forward-thinking progressive initiatives for our country. But right-thinking people, driven by their souls and a strong sense of social justice, eventually prevail. And they’ll prevail in this case, too. Dan Snyder’s team won’t be called the “Redskins” for much longer. It’s wrong and good people are rising up to right this wrong. They’re fighting the good fight.
It’s craziness that in 2013 we still have people like Snyder and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell defending the use of a term that Native Americans feel is as disrespectful to them as the “N-Word” is to African Americans.
But the nickname “Redskins” is doomed. Dave Zirin has written a spot-on piece of commentary over at Grantland on this topic. I strongly encourage each of you to check it out.
And then rise up and join the good fight against Neanderthals like Snyder and Goodell.
The Redskins nickname is going down.
— Ken Reed Sports Policy Director, League of Fans
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"How We Can Save Sports" author Ken Reed appears on Fox & Friends to explain how there's "too much adult in youth sports."
Ken Reed appears on Mornings with Gail from KFKA Radio in Colorado to discuss bad parenting in youth athletics.
“Should College Athletes Be Paid?” Ken Reed on The Morning Show from Wisconsin Public Radio
Ken Reed appears on KGNU Community Radio in Colorado (at 02:30) to discuss equality in sports and Title IX.
Ken Reed appears on the Ralph Nader Radio Hour (at 38:35) to discuss his book The Sports Reformers: Working to Make the World of Sports a Better Place, and to talk about some current sports issues.
- League of Fans Sports Policy Director Ken Reed quoted in Washington Post column titled "What happened to P.E.? It’s losing ground in our push for academic improvement," by Jay Mathews
League of Fans is a sports reform project founded by Ralph Nader to fight for the higher principles of justice, fair play, equal opportunity and civil rights in sports; and to encourage safety and civic responsibility in sports industry and culture.
Sports & Torts – Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans – at the American Museum of Tort Law
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