The trend of entities who refuse to use the word “Redskins” when describing the NFL’s Washington franchise has largely been a media-driven one so far. The Washington Post’s editorial board, the NY Daily News, Peter King, Slate and a litany of other media companies decided within the last few years that they would only describe the team as “Washington” and never as the “Redskins.”
Viewed by most as a derogatory term for Native Americans, the name has been under attack for quite some time and the fight to change the name has only intensified in recent years. Washington owner Dan Snyder has responded with a PR blitz to try to convince people that the term is not, in fact, racist and Native Americans appreciate the connotation. That campaign hasn’t gone over very well, but others in the NFL has stood by one of it’s oldest and most storied franchises…or at least silently stayed out of the fray.
The New York Giants, longtime divisional rivals of Washington, may have made the first move by a fellow NFL team to acknowledge that the team name is unacceptable when they went out of their way not to include the nickname on their 2016 schedule announcement.
https://twitter.com/Giants/status/720772020556980225?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
While every other opponent on the announcement is referred to by their nickname, the Giants refer to them simply as Washington in both instances. There’s certainly no mistaking the intent.
It’s possible an individual in the Giants organization took it upon themselves to make the change but announcements like this don’t go out willy-nilly. At least a few people had to sign off on this and it will be fascinating to see what comes of it. For a fellow NFL franchise to refuse to acknowledge the name of another, especially a rival, there’s going to be aftershocks. Will other NFL teams follow suit or will the NFL flex it’s muscle on the Giants and tell them not to make waves?
UPDATE: Later in the evening, the Giants sent out a schedule that replaced “Washington” with “Redskins” to make it more uniform. So the question would be, why was it different in the first place? And why would they make the change?
How tough is the 2016 schedule? Breaking down Big Blue’s opponents by the numbers >> https://t.co/7845krI3OQ pic.twitter.com/sJJVsOR1qP
— New York Giants (@Giants) April 15, 2016
[Deadspin]
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.