In the fall of 2013, I emailed County Executive Leggett and the Montgomercy County Council asking them to pass a resolution urging Mr. Snyder to change the name of the team. The District of Columbia had just passed a resolution. Mr. Leggett responded by saying that Montgomery County will no longer use the name in official county communication. I received a response from Councilmember Levanthal saying that such as resolution would be "only hortatory and would be perceived by many as grandstanding." He and Councilmember Berliner said that the Council also did not have time. This week, in a Washington Post article (http://wapo.st/1LHlgBt), Leggett stated that he may introduce a resolution to the council this spring. Leggett has so far kicked a field goal (no use of name) but he must score a touchdown by introducing a resolution. If Berliner and Levanthal don't have time, I don't have time to vote for them in the next election. This is about the dignity of human beings, and passing such a resolution should be a no brainer and not take too much time. Take a moral stand, Montgomery County, and tell your resident, Mr. Snyder, that he must change the name!
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Rebrand Washington Football will be writing periodic blogs about changing the name. One of the founders of this group, Josh Silver, is Jewish. I have thought how I would feel if the logo on the helmet was swastikas. It is a symbol of genocide. While shocking, this is how Native Americans feel about the current symbol on the helmet. R-skins was yelled by attackers as they were scalping and murdering Native Americans. Mr. Snyder believes the name and symbol honors Native Americans. While I take him at his word, I do not think he is listening carefully to Native Americans who have made it clear what the origins of the name really are. As a fellow Jew, Mr. Snyder should be quite sensitive to name calling and how names have been used to dehumanize Jews during the centuries. Mr. Snyder should follow the lead of another Jewish owner, Abe Pollin, who changed the name of the professional basketball team because he felt that "Bullets" connoted violence. Mr. Snyder must not be allowed to gain a profit from the use of this name and we hope that the copyright ruling against the name be upheld during appeal. To continue the Jewish analogy, it would be almost like selling "Auschwitz" burgers during the games. In the case of the current team name, "The United States Patent and Trademark Office ruled in early 2014 that the Washington Redskins name is not subject to trademark protection "based on the evidence properly before us ... these (trademark) registrations must be canceled because they were disparaging to Native Americans at the respective times they were registered." Yes, the trademark is disparaging, demeaning, and offensive. It is time for it to go. Fans should not be ashamed to root for the team and to confront the name and logo when they merely want to watch football teams. More importantly, Native Americans must not endure more hurt and harm. Let's change the name now!
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AuthorJosh Silver is one of the founders of RWF and is a life time fan that wants the name changed! Archives
February 2022
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