As pro teams ponder name changes, some national observers take closer look at Chiefs
Washington’s NFL team could have a new nickname before the start of the 2020 season.
Coach Ron Rivera told the Washington Post he has been working with owner Daniel Snyder to determine a new team nickname and hopes the change will happen within two months.
The Cleveland Indians also are pondering a new name and manager Terry Francona supports a change.
Some national reporters have written recently about the renewed focus on Native American nicknames and mentioned the Chiefs.
Here is what was being written about Kansas City:
Andrew Beaton of the Wall Street Journal wrote a story about the push to drop Native American mascots.
Here is part of what Beaton wrote: “A spokesman for the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs declined to comment on whether the team is reviewing anything in this area (a name change).
“At issue for some of these organizations is not just their name and imagery but deeply embedded traditions. Fans of both the Braves and Chiefs, for example, regularly employ the ‘Tomahawk Chop,’ a cheer where they pretend to chop the air along with a faux war chant that is widely seen as a cartoonish depiction of Native Americans. ...
“Even beyond that, fans of teams like the Chiefs wear headdresses to games and engage in other rituals. Kansas City, for instance, begins its home games with a ceremonial banging of a drum. The team has previously touted its work with communities every November during Native American Heritage month.”
Forbes’ Eric Macramalla wrote a story with the headline, “A simple test to decide whether a team should change its name.”
Here’s what he wrote about the Chiefs: “There are also some team names, like the Indians and Chiefs, that are not slurs, but still perpetuate a stereotype: the brave and bloodthirsty, noble savage warrior, dressed in loin cloth and feathers, ready to scalp the enemy. Indigenous people are not one-dimensional, mythological creatures. They are modern peoples, with proud histories, who occupy all walks of life. As Professor Daniel Cobb of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill has said: they are people with a past, not people of the past. And they are people. When we use names like ‘Indians’ and ‘Chiefs’ and ‘Braves’ alongside ‘Bears,’ ‘Lions,’ ‘Tigers’ ‘Cardinals,’ ‘Cubs’ etc., it hints at a zoomorphication of Indigenous peoples that underlies these team names. ...
“Without a doubt, (Washington’s nickname) would never be adopted today. Same goes with Indians and Chiefs. The meaning of words change over time; they are in flux. Words that were not previously offensive can become offensive. By adopting a modern day interpretation of team names, we allow ourselves the opportunity to sensitize ourselves to the ever-evolving connotation of words and their meanings.”
David Wharton of the Los Angeles Times wrote a story with the headline, “What’s in a nickname, mascot or sports tradition? Sometimes tinges of racism.”
Wharton talked with Arianne Eason, an assistant professor at the University of California for the story.
Here is an snippet of what Wharton wrote: “Scholars warn against underestimating the social impact of mascots. A recent study from the University of California and University of Michigan showed 57% of respondents who strongly identified with being Native American and 67% who frequently engaged in tribal culture practices were ‘deeply insulted’ by caricatures based on their heritage.
“Equally hurtful was fan behavior such as the tomahawk chop, a tradition at Florida State, Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Braves games.
“ ‘It’s something that people often gloss over,’ said Eason, the California professor who co-wrote the study. “Scientific research continually shows it impacts Native youth, with higher depressive symptoms, suicide rates, anxiety.’ ”
This story was originally published July 6, 2020 at 12:15 PM with the headline "As pro teams ponder name changes, some national observers take closer look at Chiefs."
