Skins changing their name?

[Go Skins]

It seems every year, this topic comes up. 

 

http://www.wtop.com/41/3305181/DC-councilmember-wants-Redskins-to-change-name

 

 

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A D.C. Councilmember plans to introduce a resolution that calls on the Washington Redskins to change their name.

Councilmember David Grosso, an at-large independent, says the name is "racist and derogatory," and that "it's time to make a change."

 

Grosso says a majority of his fellow councilmembers have agreed to co-sponsor the nonbinding resolution.

 

The team's nickname has been the subject of renewed debate in recent months. A group of Native Americans has launched a new court battle to deny the team federal trademark protection, which would essentially force a name change.

 

Grosso's resolution suggests "Redtails" as a new nickname. He says it would honor the Tuskegee Airmen and allow the team to maintain its fight song and color scheme with a few minor changes.

 

[|High School Harry|]

I think they should call themselves the Washington Foreskins. 

 

 

Team Mascot

(actually this is Scrotie, mascot of the Rhode Island School of Art and Design, the Nads.

Team cheer is Go Nads!... no kidding)

[VonBlade]

Seriously, why hasn't this been done years ago? You wouldn't have the Atlanta Cotton Pickers or the Tennessee Klansmen.

[CincyInDC]

Seriously, why hasn't this been done years ago? You wouldn't have the Atlanta Cotton Pickers or the Tennessee Klansmen.

 

Messing with the shareholders (or even your own) profit is a big no-no in 'merica.  Don't rock the boat is the safest course in these matters.

[|Numbers|]

Correct me if I'm wrong.  There is already in place an item that would take care of this issue called the Lanham Act of 1946.  The Lanham Act was enforced in 1999 then it was not enforced in 2009 as a result of petitioners waiting too long after their 18th birthdays and "not on the merits of the case."  Either way it goes in this whole ordeal, the term Redskin is not going away as a result of this new bill (HR 1278).  The  Blackhorse petitioners (see below), have had their case sitting in courts for over 6 years.  Does the wording of the new bill make it sound like anything "commonly understood to refer to Native Americans" can not be trademarked ?  Does this take away the Braves, Chiefs, Indians, Hawks, Blackhawks, Seminoles, Utes, Sioux, Tribe, etc...

 

may disparage persons if: (1) it has been, is, or is intended to be used in commerce in connection with references to or images of Native Americans; or (2) the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (Director) determines that the term as included in the mark is commonly understood to refer to Native Americans.

 

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/343602/house-dems-introduce-bill-ban-redskins-trademark-andrew-Johnson

 

 

House Dems Introduce Bill to Ban 'Redskins' Trademark

By  Andrew Johnson
March 21, 2013 2:03 PM

 

A group of House Democrats, led by Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D., D.C.), introduced a bill on Wednesday to void any existing trademarks that include the word “Redskins,” and to prevent the term from being trademarked in the future. While it is unlikely to ever be brought to a vote, the bill appears to be the latest effort by politicians and activists to force the Washington Redskins franchise to change its team name, an ongoing controversy in the nation’s capital.

 

Earlier this month, a panel of three federal judges heard arguments about whether the franchise’s trademark should be revoked because it is potentially offensive to American Indians. If the panel rules that “Redskins” cannot be trademarked, it would allow other businesses to use the team’s name on apparel and memorabilia, likely cutting into the team’s profits.

 

Although the team has widespread local support, it has come under criticism for its name. “I am a fan of the Redskins. I’m just not a fan of their name,” Norton told The Hill. In January, the city’s mayor, Vincent Gray, said that there would have to be a discussion about the team changing its name if the Redskins were to build a new stadium in Washington, D.C.; the team’s current stadium is in Maryland.

 

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/D?d113:1:./temp/~bdbera:@@@L&summ2=m&|/home/LegislativeData.php|

 

 

H.R.1278

SUMMARY AS OF:
3/20/2013--Introduced.

 

Non-Disparagement of Native American Persons or Peoples in Trademark Registration Act of 2013 - Amends the Trademark Act of 1946 to conclusively presume that a mark that uses the term "redskin" or any derivation of that term consists of matter which may disparage persons if: (1) it has been, is, or is intended to be used in commerce in connection with references to or images of Native Americans; or (2) the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (Director) determines that the term as included in the mark is commonly understood to refer to Native Americans. (The possibility that a mark disparages persons is grounds for refusing its registration.)

 

Requires the Director to cancel the registration of a mark containing the term "redskin" or any derivation of that term if: (1) it has been or is used in commerce in connection with references to or images of Native Americans, or (2) the Director determines that the term as included in the mark is commonly understood to refer to Native Americans.

 

 

http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/03/21/house-introduces-bill-ban-racist-redskins-trademark-148292

 

 

 The historical context for the name “redskins” is Phips Proclamation – a 18th century racist and genocidal policy put into place by the Massachusetts colonial government (Maine was still part of the Massachusetts colony at the time). In 1755, Spencer Phips, the Lieutenant Governor of the Province of Massachusetts issued a call for the genocide of the Penobscot Nation whose people had resisted the colonization of their ancestral lands. The proclamation named the Penobscots “to be Enemies, Rebels, and Traitors to his Majesty King George the Second,” and required Massachusetts residents to “Embrace all opportunities of pursuing, captivating, killing and destroying all and every of the aforesaid Indians.” It set out a schedule of payments “for every Indian Enemy that they shall kill and produce the Scalp.”  Scalps of male Penobscots above the age of twelve years received 50 pounds; female brought in 25 pounds; and children under 12 brought in 20 pounds. The bloody scalps were called “redskins.”

 

The Lanham Act of 1946 currently provides that trademarks that “may disparage” persons may not be registered and are subject to cancellation.

 

 In 1999 – after seven years of administrative litigation – the TTAB ruled that the Trademark Office erred when it registered the trademarks because “redskin” is a term that may disparage American Indians. The TTAB directed that the registrations be canceled. The owners of the trademarks appealed to federal court and in 2009 – 10 years later – the Washington, D.C., appeals court ruled in the owners’ favor not on the merits of the case, but on the finding that Harjo and the other petitioners had waited too long after their 18th birthdays to petition the Trademark Office under the Lanham Act. In 2006, five younger American Indians filed a new petition with the TTAB to cancel the registrations. Their petition, called Blackhorse v. Pro-Football, Inc., is continuing.

 

Although the new bill would prohibit registering “redskins” as a trademark it would not stop business owners who are determined to use the racist term. They would be free under the First Amendment right of free speech to use the term “redskins” – unregistered – even though it is disparaging. That means the Washington football team could continue to use the racist slur, but it would no longer have the market cornered with an exclusive right to sell items using the name.

 

 Leaving this matter to the Blackhorse petitioners, which has already languished in court for six years, “is no solution, but an abdication of Congress’s responsibility to govern.”

 

[Le Tigre]

With .03% of the DC population, are there any Native Americans there to offend?

[CincyInDC]

617,996 × .0003 = ~185

 

I never met any Native Americans when I lived there.

[sois]

With .03% of the DC population, are there any Native Americans there to offend?

 

There are very few people in Bismark, North Dakota, therefore to you the Bismark N-Word's is a legit name for their high school team.  Good call.

[AmishBengalFan]

617,996 × .0003 = ~185

 

I never met any Native Americans when I lived there.

 

Excuse me?  Aren't we all native Americans - at least those who didn't move here after birth?

[MichaelWeston]

It's only racist if the people who it offends see it?

[CincyInDC]

 

Excuse me?  Aren't we all native Americans - at least those who didn't move here after birth?

 

Wow, you are so obtuse I'm surprised you can fit through your front door.

[Passepartout]

Not the first time nor will it be the last time Skins or people wanting Skins to change their name. That are offended.

[Tigris]

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Get em outta here

[sois]

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Get em outta here

 

Regurgitated shitty internet logic.  Not even the same thing, fella.

[Le Tigre]

There are very few people in Bismark, North Dakota, therefore to you the Bismark N-Word's is a legit name for their high school team.  Good call.

Sorry...I spent the first 9 years of my life living amongst the Yakima Nation. I guess that won't dovetail with your innuendo. Make another call.

BTW...I am not offended.

[scharm]

 

Regurgitated shitty internet logic.  Not even the same thing, fella.

 

Why?  It is exactly the same thing. 

[|Numbers|]

Sorry...I spent the first 9 years of my life living amongst the Yakima Nation. I guess that won't dovetail with your innuendo. Make another call.

BTW...I am not offended.

 

I didn't know you lived there.  As part of an Anthropology course I took, we learned about the Kennewick man.  Dr. James Chatter who recovered and examined the remains came to the Falls of the Ohio center (Indiana).  If anyone wanted extra credit they had to go sit through the briefing and give a brief write up on what was learned.  Out of a class of about 30 or so, I was the only one there.  The place was packed with a lot of educational types and turned out to be a very nice event.  The finding of the Kennewick man created quite the stir in the various nations or tribes in America (including the Yakima).  Unfortunately for the tribes, Kennewick man matched no tribes in America.  He wasn't a Caucasian and wasn't part of the tribes known in America so what was he ?  Later studies revealed that Kennewick man was most likely part of the Sundadont. 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinodonty_and_Sundadonty

 

(Sundadont were of the)..Jōmon people of Japan, and in living populations of Taiwanese aborigines, Filipinos, Indonesians, Thais, Borneans, Laotians, and Malaysians.

 

Native Americans were of the Sinodont pattern in the Han Chinese, in the inhabitants of Mongolia and eastern Siberia, in the Native Americans, and in the Yayoi people of Japan.

[sois]

 

Why?  It is exactly the same thing. 

 

No it's not, it's the same fucked out example people always want to equate.  If it was the Fighting Mick's, that would be the same thing.  If the Redskins were called the Seminoles, that would be cool, but if you can't tell the difference, you're Justice/Lewdog level retarded, no offense Justice/Lewdog.

 

Sorry...I spent the first 9 years of my life living amongst the Yakima Nation. I guess that won't dovetail with your innuendo. Make another call.

BTW...I am not offended.

 

Huh?  Oh I left out the word "black".  There are very flew black people in that town.  Thus, it's ok to use N-Word as a team mascot.  Cool.

[-GoBengals-]

 

No it's not, it's the same fucked out example people always want to equate.  If it was the Fighting Mick's, that would be the same thing.  If the Redskins were called the Seminoles, that would be cool, but if you can't tell the difference, you're Justice/Lewdog level retarded, no offense Justice/Lewdog.

 

 

Huh?  Oh I left out the word "black".  There are very flew black people in that town.  Thus, it's ok to use N-Word as a team mascot.  Cool.

 

what the N-word?

[scharm]

 

No it's not, it's the same fucked out example people always want to equate.  If it was the Fighting Mick's, that would be the same thing.  If the Redskins were called the Seminoles, that would be cool, but if you can't tell the difference, you're Justice/Lewdog level retarded, no offense Justice/Lewdog.

 

 

Huh?  Oh I left out the word "black".  There are very flew black people in that town.  Thus, it's ok to use N-Word as a team mascot.  Cool.

 

It generalizes a specific group with a typical sterotype about that group.     It just happens that group is a majority and people are not sympathetic nor is the group complaining about it on a large level.

 

Using the rational displayed in this thread if offends 1 irishman then it should be removed. 

[sois]

I wish there was a team called Fags, I would turn the other way if that was one of the names people were protesting.

[|Numbers|]

 

Although the new bill would prohibit registering “redskins” as a trademark it would not stop business owners who are determined to use the racist term. They would be free under the First Amendment right of free speech to use the term “redskins” – unregistered – even though it is disparaging. That means the Washington football team could continue to use the racist slur, but it would no longer have the market cornered with an exclusive right to sell items using the name.

 

 

Daniel Snyder has been quoted recently as saying "NEVER" when asked if was going to change the name.  He was also asked if he knew Blackhorse and he said no.  Snyder is immediately lying that he did not know the name Blackhorse.  He may also be the dumbest most insensitive person that is an owner and that is saying a lot considering the choices out there.  IF Snyder loses his trademark he will lose a significant amount of revenue and I don't think he is even that dumb.  Reminded me a lot of when Fuhrman said he never used the N word.

I wish there was a team called Fags, I would turn the other way if that was one of the names people were protesting.

 

There is and its the Stealers...

[|Numbers|]

I wish there was a team called Fags, I would turn the other way if that was one of the names people were protesting.

 

http://www.nygayfootball.org/nygfl/

[|Numbers|]

Do we also get rid of the candy called Cracker Jack ?  Just because at the time it was introduced it was not what it means today ?  If not change is it possible to petition to remove the Caucasian kid from the box ?

 

The term "cracker" is derived from the Gaelic "craic", meaning entertaining conversation or boasting. ^[6] It was used in the 18th century to denote Irish and Scotch colonists of the Deep South backcountry. The Earl of Dartmouth had this to say in a 1766 correspondence: "I should explain to your Lordship what is meant by Crackers; a name they have got from being great boasters; they are a lawless set of rascalls on the frontiers of Virginia, Maryland, the Carolinas, and Georgia, who often change their places of abode."

 

The semi-funny thing is that Atlanta had a ball team called the Atlanta Crackers along with another team called the Atlanta Black Crackers.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta_Black_Crackers

 

On June 28, 1997, the Atlanta Braves wore 1938 Black Crackers home uniforms and the visiting Philadelphia Phillies wore 1938 Philadelphia Stars road uniforms.^[2] The teams wore these same uniforms again for their matchup on May 14, 2011.^[3] On April 27, 2013, the Braves sported Black Crackers throwbacks in a game against the Detroit Tigers.

[T-Dub]

Do we also get rid of the candy called Cracker Jack ?  Just because at the time it was introduced it was not what it means today ? 

 

 

Sure, just as soon as you give an example of the innocent, harmless alternate meaning for "Redskin"