Woot: Is It Truly Offensive Term?

The term “Redskins” has many opposing interpretations, and to some, has the racial equivalence of other demeaning slurs. The big question: is the term “Redskins” (being proudly promoted by Washington’s professional football team), a truly offensive term? A majority of the Native American population would say no and as little as 9% (of the 768 people who participated in polling) said the name was offensive (The Ammenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania). Nevertheless, a federal judge ruled that the team cannot legally register trademarks for its “Redskins” nickname (Federal Judge Delivers Another Legal Blow To ‘Redskins’ Team Name). The term "Redskins" is not fundamentally offensive, and should not be challenged for its civility, because it “offends” only a small population of people that don’t remotely have any relevance to the sport of football. …show more content…
“United South and Eastern Tribes), is not factual and is not credited by any background research. Ives Goddard devoted his time to evaluate the underlying meaning of the word Redskin, to truly understand if it has offensive qualities. From his studies, he reasoned that the term “Redskin” originated as a Native American expression of solidarity. He concludes that is reflects more positive aspects, and that the NFL team name has shown reverence toward the proud legacy of Native Americans for 81 years (“The Truth About The Redskins Name and Logo”); the NFL would never represent an image that brings humiliation or shame to a group of