WASHINGTON – That’s enough. Stop it. Cut it out. No one in power is willing to say that to Redskins owner Daniel Snyder about the team’s nickname and that’s why this is a controversy that will not go away.
Let me be clear, I am not making a judgment on the name. In 1991 WTOP actually stopped using the Redskins name and was widely ridiculed. Newspapers carried cartoons that made fun of WTOP’s decision to stop using the name Redskins. This was 1991. Here it is 2013 and the debate continues.
As I did in 1991, I still believe that WTOP should use Redskins in its reports because that is the team’s name. As a news organization it is WTOP’s job to report. Whether the Redskins name should be dropped needs to be decided by someone in power.
The NCAA made it clear to its member schools that it would not tolerate monikers that were deemed offensive. So the St. John’s Redmen became the Red Storm. The Syracuse Orangemen became just the Orange. The NCAA, with all its money from television had the power and there was change.
This week eyebrows were raised when in a radio interview on 106.7 FM The Fan NFL commissioner Roger Goodell seemed to signal a change in the league’s tone when he said about the Redskins nickname, “If one person is offended, we have to listen. ”
More than one person is offended, including a group that bought advertising on WTOP. I sent that ad to the NFL seeking a comment and never received a response. Maybe the NFL listens, but doesn’t do e-mail.
Wait, here’s the rub. Goodell made it clear in his words, “Ultimately, it’s Dan’s decision.” He was talking about Redskins owner Daniel Snyder. Talk about a quarterback eluding pressure in the pocket. Goodell was better than RG III.
Goodell was not sacked. He said the right thing without saying anything. We already have Dan’s decision and he has no plans to drop Redskins as the team’s nickname. Unless the NFL does more than listen, this is a controversy stuck in a cul de sac.
Anyone see the movie “Groundhog Day”?
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