Washington Redskins Owner Starts OAF

Tecumsehsbones

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OAF? Seriously?


ORLANDO – Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder, who has faced criticism over his refusal to change the name of his football team, announced Monday night that he will start a foundation to benefit Native Americans.

In a four-page letter posted on the Redskins Web site, Snyder said his decision to create the Washington Redskins Original Americans Foundation was the result of four months of research into what Native Americans thought of the Redskins nickname and logo, including visits by Snyder and his staff to 26 Indian reservations in 20 states.

“The more I heard, the more I’ve learned, and the more I saw, the more resolved I became about helping to address the challenges that plague the Native American community,” Snyder wrote. “In speaking face-to-face with Native American leaders and community members, it’s plain to see they need action, not words.”

Snyder’s announcement drew criticism from the Oneida Indian Nation, a New York tribe that has emerged as one of the most vocal opponents to the name. In a statement released late Monday, tribal representative Ray Halbritter reiterated the Oneidas’ hope that Snyder will change the name.

“We are glad that after more than a decade of owning the Washington team, Mr. Snyder is finally interested in Native American heritage, and we are hopeful that when his team finally stands on the right side of history and changes its name, he will honor the commitment to Native Americans that he is making today,” Halbritter’s statement read. ”We are also hopeful that in his new initiative to honor Native Americans’ struggle, Mr. Snyder makes sure people do not forget that he and his predecessor, George Preston Marshall, a famous segregationist, have made our people’s lives so much more difficult by using a racial slur as Washington’s team’s name.”

In the past year Snyder has faced stiff criticism over the team’s name, which some Native American tribes have called offensive. Several state and local officials have also spoken out against the name. Last season, the Redskins drew protests at many of their road games, with crowds of several hundred turning out to their matchups in Denver and Minnesota. Groups also have lobbied NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to take action.

Goodell, asked at a news conference earlier Monday about opposition to the team’s name, said: “We have, I think, done a very thorough job of making sure that we understand all perspectives on this and we will continue to do that.”

Snyder, who has owned the Redskins since 1999, maintains the team’s nickname represents the heritage of the 81-year-old franchise and is meant to honor Native Americans.

Snyder said in the letter that the Redskins have already donated more than 3,000 coats to several tribes, as well as shoes to boys’ and girls’ basketball teams on reservations, and that the franchise helped purchase a backhoe for the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska.
The owner wrote that another 40 projects also are underway to improve the conditions of a number of tribes.

“The mission of the Original Americans Foundation is to provide meaningful and measurable resources that provide genuine opportunities for Tribal communities,” Snyder wrote. “With open arms and determined minds, we will work as partners to begin to tackle the troubling realities facing so many tribes across our country. Our efforts will address the urgent challenges plaguing Indian country based on what Tribal leaders tell us they need most. We may have created this new organization, but the direction of the Foundation is truly theirs.”

Daniel Snyder starting Washington Redskins Original Americans Foundation

What, no blankets?
 

Tecumsehsbones

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There's good things and bad things about this.

It's good that Dumb Danny is spending millions rather than change the name. Consistent with the "my way! my way!" attitude that's led Washington to years of losing seasons.

It's bad that he's giving the money to Indians.

It's funny that he thinks a name change is so momentous. The Cleveland Browns became the Baltimore Ravens. The Houston Oilers became the Tennessee Titans. The Washington Bullets became the Washington Wizards.

Heck, the Washington Redskins used to be the Boston Braves.

Don't matter much nohow. Nobody really cares about the worst team in the worst division in the NFL.
 

pgs

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There's good things and bad things about this.

It's good that Dumb Danny is spending millions rather than change the name. Consistent with the "my way! my way!" attitude that's led Washington to years of losing seasons.

It's bad that he's giving the money to Indians.

It's funny that he thinks a name change is so momentous. The Cleveland Browns became the Baltimore Ravens. The Houston Oilers became the Tennessee Titans. The Washington Bullets became the Washington Wizards.

Heck, the Washington Redskins used to be the Boston Braves.

Don't matter much nohow. Nobody really cares about the worst team in the worst division in the NFL.
Robert Griffiths 3rd does .
 

captain morgan

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There's good things and bad things about this.

It's good that Dumb Danny is spending millions rather than change the name. Consistent with the "my way! my way!" attitude that's led Washington to years of losing seasons.

It's bad that he's giving the money to Indians.

It's funny that he thinks a name change is so momentous. The Cleveland Browns became the Baltimore Ravens. The Houston Oilers became the Tennessee Titans. The Washington Bullets became the Washington Wizards.

Heck, the Washington Redskins used to be the Boston Braves.

Don't matter much nohow. Nobody really cares about the worst team in the worst division in the NFL.

I didn't think that there was a direct cash delivery... I read it as the provision of jackets, shoes and other items.

Regardless, one can not help but wonder what will be next on the agenda... Jeep Cherokee? Apache Attack Helicopters?

One can make an argument as to how these might be offensive
 

Locutus

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I didn't think that there was a direct cash delivery... I read it as the provision of jackets, shoes and other items.

Regardless, one can not help but wonder what will be next on the agenda... Jeep Cherokee? Apache Attack Helicopters?

One can make an argument as to how these might be offensive

Not to mention, injunuity. ;-)
 
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Tecumsehsbones

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Robert Griffiths 3rd does .
Who the heck is Robert Griffiths 3d?

I didn't think that there was a direct cash delivery... I read it as the provision of jackets, shoes and other items.

Regardless, one can not help but wonder what will be next on the agenda... Jeep Cherokee? Apache Attack Helicopters?

One can make an argument as to how these might be offensive
One can. Fact remains that "redskin" is the semantic equivalent of "n*gger." Make of that what you will.
 

captain morgan

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One can. Fact remains that "redskin" is the semantic equivalent of "n*gger." Make of that what you will.


I can see that perspective, however, it is mitigated with the racial descriptors of 'the Black race, Yellow race, White race, etc.

If one replaces the word race with skin, does that invoke the same meaning or perhaps it morphs into a racial slur
 

Tecumsehsbones

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I can see that perspective, however, it is mitigated with the racial descriptors of 'the Black race, Yellow race, White race, etc.

If one replaces the word race with skin, does that invoke the same meaning or perhaps it morphs into a racial slur
Nope. It's not amenable to that kind of analysis. It's a matter of usage.