Last week, Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder announced the creation of the Washington Redskins Original Americans Foundation in a letter to season ticket holders. The letter was also released to the media and published on NFL.com. Citing statistics and anecdotes from his Indian reservation visits, Mr. Snyder is apparently moved by the continued poverty of many Native Americans. He declared that the mission of his foundation “is to provide meaningful and measurable resources that provide genuine opportunities for Tribal communities.” The foundation purchased 3,000 coats, a backhoe for a Nebraska tribe, and shoes and uniforms for tribal sports teams. Mr. Snyder concluded, “The Washington Redskins Original Americans Foundation will serve as a living, breathing legacy — and an ongoing reminder — of the heritage and tradition that is the Washington Redskins.”
While the philanthropy of the Original Americans Foundation is straightforward, the situation that underscores the foundation’s establishment is complex. There is growing pressure on Mr. Snyder to change the name of the Redskins, and calls to change the team name have moved beyond Native American activists. Last October, President Obama suggested that Mr. Snyder consider changing the team name; Washington DC Mayor Vincent Gray has suggested that a stadium deal with the city would have to include a name change. In response, Snyder casts himself as the defender of a proud football heritage centered on the Redskins name (an argument that sounds very similar to arguments in favor of flying the Confederate flag). Of course, there’s no reason to think that Daniel Snyder is hateful toward Native Americans, and not every Native American is bothered by the Redskins team name. It’s also true that many sports team names link to Native Americans—Chiefs, Braves, Indians, etc. But Redskin is the only one that is a slur pulled directly from past racist caricatures. As such, naming a team the Redskins is roughly equivalent to naming a team the Nappy-heads or the Slant-Eyes. With or without a coat-dispensing foundation, Mr. Snyder’s continued defense of the racially-charged term, based on its historical connection to a middling team, is an Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty. // Michael Adelberg