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Racial discrimination in sports
Racial discrimination in sports
Racial in sports
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Should the Washington Redskins change their name was a major question that came up during much of 2014, 2015 and 2016 NFL season. In fact the issue was so large that the U.S. Supreme court was even involved at the time. Having discussed this topic many times with friends, adults and teacher I have been told that I don’t really have much of a say in this matter for I was born into “The Lucky Gene Pool” and don’t know what it's like to be discriminated against. Being a middle class white boy living in a very nice town and going to a very nice school I can easily see that this statement is true, I have never been shouted at with racial slurs, given a dirty look because of my skin color or frightened mere strangers because of my ethnicity. So before I proceed I would like to say that I don’t mean to offend anybody and ruffle any feathers, I am only speaking out about this topic because my opinion on whether the Redskins should change their name or not comes from me simply being an avid Washington Redskins fan.
I know, I know, for starters all of you are probably thinking how does a kid from Boston, the city with the best
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If this is the case then wouldn’t the Atlanta Braves and Cleveland Indians have to change their name to for they also “mock” Native Americans. If we are going that far then wouldn’t we have to change the names of the Oakland Raiders, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Minnesota Vikings for they were pirates and warriors who killed innocent citizens, plundered and burned coastal towns taking whatever money they could place their hands on and killing anyone who got in their way even law officials. We wouldn’t want kids in our day thinking that this was a fine thing to do. Also wouldn’t we have to get rid of the San Diego Padres, this could be offensive to no-religious people and what about the New York Yankees doesn't that offend the once south
Aside from professional sports teams having offensive names, high school and college teams also have offensive names. In Greenly, Colorado at the University of Northern Colorado, their mascot is the Fightin’ Reds. Of course, this name sounds very racists, depicting Native Americans in a very harsh manner. Students on the basketball team renamed their team, The Fightin’ Whites. They were trying to depict the 1950’s style of the average American male. Their slogan for their team is “Every thang’s going to be all white.” By making this new mascot and new slogan, the basketball team was trying to get their city council to talk about the insensitive team mascots that their school, along with thousands of other schools have. In Eaton, Colorado the people who live there are amazed by all the madness that is going on about the school’s mascot. They are perfectly happy with the mascot, and to them it seems like it would be breaking tradition if someone were to change their mascot. Even though there are many people who hate the school’s mascot and vote for it to be changed, there are also some people who love it and do not want to be changed. Some people think it is a honor for a school’s mascot to be named after their culture. But the number of people for the mascots do not even compare to the number of people opposed to the mascots. (Cart, A12)
Mascots are beloved figure heads for sports teams everywhere almost every sport team has a mascot of some kind; that said, sometimes instead of bring people together it can cause a rift between two cultures. Such as Washington’s D.C.’s football team the “Redskins” often the word redskin was a derogatory word used against the Native Americans and while it may seem as though paying homage to the Native American community the overall stereotyped actions of the fans themselves as well as the sugarcoating of the previously racial slur has done little to bring the two cultures together and instead created a larger disconnect between white and Native American. The name Redskin should be retired and replaced so that rather
In the past few years, the controversy over Native American and other racial sport names or mascots have become an uproar. The main sport teams that are being targeted due to controversial mascots are programs having names dealing with Native Americans. Many teams are well known programs such as the Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, and the Washington Redskins. The Redskins are receiving the most heat from racial groups. According to Erik Brady of USA Today “The volatility surrounding such names has amped up in the year since Daniel Snyder, owner of Washington's NFL club, told USA TODAY Sports that he'd never change his team's name: ‘NEVER — you can use caps.’” (3). However, professional teams are not the only teams receiving negative remarks,
In a generation focused on social justice and the elimination of prejudice from our society, there is still a use of offensive language and terminology in the area of professional sports. In “The Indian Wars” by S. L. Price, Price attempts to make the reader aware of sports teams that use derogatory terms as their team name and their mascot. He does this by highlighting football, and trying to determine whether Native-Americans are offended by team names in sports, or more specifically, the Redskins. Price’s essay is ineffective because although he raises good points, he doesn’t help the reader to form an opinion by adding historical context to the derogatory names used. He also uses inaccurate poll results to make assumptions about the feelings
The debate is divided into two sides. Those opposed to the use of Redskins and all Native American names in sports, and perceive the use of such terms and imagery as racist and derogatory towards Native Americans and those for keeping the name who cite the history of the team, its links to Native American players and coaches who were part of the team when it was create...
Native Americans are trying to take that next step. For the past 100 years Americans have stolen their sacred names and used them for mascots of high school, college, and professional sports teams. The National Education Association is one of the first to step to the plate by passing, Article I-41, which advises use of Prejudicial Terms and Symbols "The National Education Association deplores prejudice based on race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender, age, disability, size, marital status, or economic status and rejects the use of names, symbols, caricatures, emblems, logos, and mascots that promote such prejudice. (92,94)" By having these practices they believe the rights of Native Americans are protected. Native American Mascots in sports need to change to protect and uphold the rights that are granted to them from the constitution.
In his Sports Illustrated article, “The Indian Wars,” S.L. Price argues that there is no easy answer to whether or not the use of Native American mascots by high school, college, and professional sports teams is offensive. “It's an argument that, because it mixes mere sports with the sensitivities of a people who were nearly exterminated, seems both trivial and profound -- and it's further complicated by the fact that for three out of four Native Americans, even a nickname such as Redskins, which many whites consider racist, isn't objectionable.” Whereas Price provides ample evidence that his claim is true, I disagree with the way it was presented and I still insist that Native American names and mascots are offensive.
Some people think the mascots are offensive because they use derogatory terms, but some people think they’re okay because it’s a celebration of diversity. Here’s some reasons why people say yes to the mascots. Going back to what I said about the Washington Redskins, Redskins is a derogatory term towards the Native Americans, like how the N-word is towards African Americans. Studies show that it can create a hostile learning environment in schools. Some believe that if the mascot offends even one person, that we should all listen.
The opposition states that it would be considered racist to call a team the blacks, but they can have a team called the Redskins. The arguments for the opposition are thin, but bring up valid points.
With that being said, all Americans should be allowed to live in a country where they feel safe and free of hatred. If a historical symbol fuels hatred, violence, and fear then the display of such a symbol would only misinterpret the meaning of the land of the free.
September 11th, 2001 will forever be etched into American history as one of the worst terrorist attacks against the United States. To memorialize the victims that perished on this day, an official memorial was built in the footprints of the World Trade Centers (WTC). While the goal of this memorial was to be peaceful, some debates have arisen about the memorial. Some believe that they should have something different for the design and others dislike components of the winning design. Even with the many debates that surround this memorial, it is still a valuable piece of art to the public that provides a place for families and others to remember those who were killed on that day. People that visit the memorial connect with it physically and emotionally.
Putting Indians on a helmet shows how America “owns” them. “Not only do Indians have to deal with the fallout of being ‘conquered’ people...the shame of being men who descended from those unable to protect our women...the shame of being women who descended from those raped and tortured…” but they also have to deal with being reminded of the events that happened in the past. Constantly being reminded of these events is disrespectful and torture. In the past, the Indians were helpless against the pilgrims and were unable to do anything to protect their people. Since the name of the mascot is broadcasted visually, Redskins just reminds them that they were owned and still remain to be. Just like corporate America copyrighting their inventions, in Dan Snyder’s position in his letter to the Washington Redskins fans, he continues to want to “own” the name Redskins. Snyder’s action of keeping the team name shows his power of “sustain[ing] long term success if this franchise.” American Indians are being disrespected in this manner by being seen as a franchise instead of a group of people. Especially since such a big issue like this is just for a sports game, it is demeaning for American Indian’s
Redskins, Seminoles, Tribe, Indians, what do they all have in common? They are all athletic team names under scrutiny by people who deem them as being racist. For years, people have argued over the fact that these names and/or mascots are being used in a negative way. Some have been changed while others are still being argued over. Teams with these mascots should not be forced to change their names because the majority of Native Americans are not even bothered by these sports names.
The next reason we’ll be looking at are the stereotypical images commonly seen in literature and mascots. Mainstream media such as “Dances with Wolves”, “The Lone Ranger”, and “The Last of The Mohicans” and mascots in professional sports teams like Washington Redskins, Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves, and Chicago Blackhawks all include representations of Native Americans that for some, are offensive. With this in mind, ...
Salutations to the BuzzFeed member reading this! I’m Gelaine (“Gee-lane” because everyone pronounces it incorrectly) from a city near San Francisco. My friend, Khanh, and I are huge fans of BuzzFeed. We watch every video from each channel and read almost all of the articles. I am not ashamed one bit to admit that Buzzfeed is the topic of most of our conversations. “Have you read that article about...?” “Did you see that video where...?” “Oh, my gosh! Remember in that scene when...?” These questions are usually the first things that come out of our mouths whenever we see each other. I could go on for an eternity describing our passion for the company’s creations, but I don’t want to waste your time with my rambling. Getting to the point, I contacted you today because Khanh’s birthday is approaching and this may be, depending on which high schools we choose to attend, the last birthday spent together.