Will Obama Abolish the Redskins?

According to a new report in the Washington Post, the Obama administration intends to stand in the way of a new stadium for the Washington Redskins. President Obama and his cabinet have long criticized the name, which has inspired controversy among Native Americans and – especially – guilty white liberals. With D.C. city leaders hoping to lure the Redskins back to the city and away from their current home in Maryland, the battle over the name could be set to reach new levels of legitimacy.

The Post reports that Interior Secretary Sally Jewell has told D.C.’s mayor that unless there is a change to the name, the Obama administration will not accommodate a change of venue. Another National Park Service employee has reportedly told the mayor that the agency stands against the construction of a new stadium.

“As I believe the Secretary made clear in our discussion, the NPS will not take a position in support of such an extension at this time,” regional NPS director Robert A. Vogel said in a letter published by the newspaper.

The report puts the Redskins name back in the headlines just as the kerfuffle began to die down. And while Redskins owner Dan Snyder has said repeatedly that he will never change the name, the social and economic pressure could eventually become too much to bear. Already, the Patent office has canceled the Redskins trademark. Obama administration officials have said that it’s unlikely that the president will make the name a priority over the next 18 months, but anything can happen.

In its own way, the flap over the Redskins is a parallel to the one over the Confederate flag. No one is claiming that the Redskins name and symbol represents their heritage, but plenty of football fans have denied that it has anything to do with racism. Regardless of the controversial origins of the term, you would have to search high and low to find anyone who regularly calls Native Americans “redskins” in modern times. 99 times out of 100, the first thing that pops into mind is the Washington team.

Furthermore, the name and logo are not – and never were – meant to disrespect Native Americans. They function not as parody but as celebration. Fans see strength and honor in those symbols, and only a liberal mind could read something negative in that interpretation. Of course, when you spend your life looking for things to get offended about, you’ll find them.

Would it be a shame if the team changed its name? In a vacuum, not really. Who cares?

But this isn’t happening in a vacuum. This is happening in a country where the left is pushing us closer and closer to a world where we must watch everything we say. In that world, ideas are censored and viewpoints must meet strict guidelines to be accepted. And in that world, any time we have a chance to stand against political correctness, we must.