Redskins Name Change Should Be Considered According To President Barack Obama
In recent news it was revealed the President Barack Obama is apart of the group of people who think the Redskins should consider a name change.
Although Obama believes the Redskins weren't purposely trying to insult people with their name, he does think they should give the name change some serious thought due to a large amount of Native Americans being offended.
"If I were the owner of the team and I knew that the name of my team, even if they’ve had a storied history, that was offending a sizable group of people, I'd think about changing it,” said Obama to the Associated Press.
Obama is not ordering the Washington D.C. Redskins to change their name, but merely using his right to give his opinion.
However, statics from an April 2013 AP poll showed that eight out of ten of all Americans in the national sample don't think the Redskins name should be changed.
Furthermore, attorney and spokesperson Lanny Davis of the Redskins pointed out a study were a majority of Native American weren't offended by the football team's name.
“As a supporter of President Obama, I am sure the president is not aware that in the highly respected Annenberg Institute poll (taken 2004) with a national sample of Native Americans, 9 out of 10 Native Americans said they were not bothered by the name the ‘Washington Redskins," said Davis to NBC's Kristen Welker.
The controversy triggered the team to make their own personal statement:
“We at the Redskins respect everyone. But like devoted fans of the Atlanta Braves, the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago Blackhawks (from President Obama’s home town), we love our team and its name and, like those fans, we do not intend to disparage or disrespect a racial or ethnic group. The name ‘Washington Redskins’ is 80 years old – it’s our history and legacy and tradition. We Redskins fans sing ‘hail to the Redskins’ every Sunday as a word of honor not disparagement.”