Getty Washington Redskins players kneel as Maurice Smith #46 of the Washington Redskins is put on a cart after being injured in the first quarter against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on December 29, 2019 in Arlington, Texas.
Just recently, the Washington Redskins announced that they will conduct a “thorough review” of their team’s name.
“In light of recent events around our country and feedback from our community, the Washington Redskins are announcing the team will undergo a thorough review of the team’s name. This review formalizes the initial discussions the team has been having with the league in recent weeks,” the Redskins said in a released statement.
“We believe this review can and will be conducted with the best interest of all in mind.”
Washington, D.C. Mayor Murial Bowser shared recently shared her concerns on the matter with Team 980 and stated that it was time for a change. “I think it’s past time for the team to deal with what offends so many people,” Bowser said via an interview transcribed by Heavy contributor Chris Crouse.
“And this is a great franchise with a great history that’s beloved in Washington and it deserves a name that reflects the affection that we’ve built for the team.”
WWE Hall of Famer, Jesse Ventura recently spoke with Fox Sports Radio’s Kelsey Nicole Nelson. In addition to chastising the NFL about Colin Kaepernick, the former Minnesota state governor challenged D.C. to change the team’s name. “That they can do quick,” Minnesota’s 38th governor told Nelson.
Kelsey Nicole Nelson recently checked into the Scoop B Radio Podcast and weighed in on the Redskins discussion and a potential name change.
Check out notes on our dialogue below:
Kelsey Nicole Nelson on changing of the ‘Redskins’ name:
“Yeah, this is an age-old question I never get tired of talking to and being born and bred here in the DMV area. This is a football town. Yes, I know the Capitals recently won and the Nationals recently won a World Series championship, and the Mystics recently won a championship, but it doesn’t matter. The Redskins are STILL the living breathing life of D.C. Let me tell you, I know their last championship was around when I was born, but that doesn’t stop it. D.C., the natives here loved the Washington football teams that used to play in D.C. when they played in RFK Stadium and now it’s FedEx Field is a landmine.” Nelson stated.
“I mean, Redskins football is a landmine for the DMV area and you grow up as going to Redskins baby showers, Redskins Day weddings – I’ve been to a Washington Redskins funeral. It’s not a joke. This is a real, real thing. There are many people who can tell you that is their most common orders, and so it’s something that has kind of been ingrained in culture, but of course, now we have our mayor calling for a name change. We have Jesse Ventura and so many others saying the name is offensive and so I think D.C. is stuck in this middle ground where you have people saying — I guess you can kind of tie it to the Confederate flag thing where many are saying, ‘Hey, this is our heritage. This is the name we grew up with.”… And some these people – and I had a guy on my show; Native American, works for the Washington Redskins and said, “Hey, I grew up with this on my reservation in North Dakota. I love the name, but this name is attributed to me but on the other side you have people saying this is offensive. Did you see what ‘Redskins’ meant was this country was being founded and how it was used negatively?'”
“So it’s like I’m in this middle place unfortunately and I’ll just be honest, where you have both sides and it’s been hard to get to something because I don’t think one side has been louder than the other. And so, that’s why for now the team is saying hey, we still have a lot of people that support us. They still call us this name, there are still media members that call us this name, and so we’re not going to change it. And so, it’s a tough place. Nobody wants anything offensive. Nobody should want that. And I think if someone is saying something, you need to look at it. But I really do hope that we get to a happy medium where the Washington football team can keep all fans happy and not b offensive.”
Today at 4:30 pm ET, I’ll be joining @CBCNews & host @andrewcbc live to discuss the Washington Redskins possible name change & more! Hope you’ll join me.
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Kelsey Nicole Nelson on the Baltimore Bullets’ name change and keeping the culture:
“So I was younger, but of course people that know my dad and I posted my Father’s Day picture, everything that I know about sports is from my dad. And even knowing the area growing up, it was bad. Baltimore still has parts that they’re not where they need to be unfortunately. But saying all that to say that there are some people that say, ‘We love the Bullets! We love that name! Why did they change it?’ and let me tell you, some people still rock the old merchandise and if you think about it, that’s really when the franchise was at the height of heights.”
“Because the Washington Wizards were there but they haven’t been able to get to that promised land just yet, but some people thought it was true and real, so why change it. You see what they did with the Capital City Go-Go Team, the NBA G-League team. That was attributed to D.C. and of course, our music here is go-go music, and that was a really fitting tribute to name our G-League team after that and have some positive representation. We have the ‘Don’t Move D.C. Movement’ which as D.C. goes through this wave of gentrification, we want to make sure that the culture is still here and go-go is a part of that.” Nelson continued.
“If you come to D.C. the real D.C., you’re gonna hear go-go music blasting in the street. You’re gonna see drummers out as you go to your Metro or your bus stop. I think that was a good tribute. I think that the Bullets name; I get why they changed it because they didn’t want that perceived notion, but then we’re talking about the Washington Redskins. Even if you change the name, there will probably still be those people who won’t get with the times. You’ll always have some of that.”