In case you missed it: We are a Redskins family.

Redskins Trademark Canceled
That is to say, I was born and spent a great deal of my life in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area and, personally, bleed burgundy and gold. My wife gets in to the good times, of which there are few, of late, and my kids can correctly identify the legendary logo all over our house and know enough to cover their ears on Sunday afternoons.

Gameday in the maternity ward

Gameday in the maternity ward

In case you missed it: Today the United States Patent and Trademark Office canceled six federal trademark registrations for the NFL’s Washington Redskins. It appears that the 15 year debate over the alleged racist team name is finally coming to a (feathered) head.

While the team will keep all rights to the name during what will likely be a purposefully prolonged appeals process, an ultimate name change seems inevitable, to me, after today’s announcement.

As a diehard Skins fan, I have been drawn in to numerous, lengthy, debates on the subject. As a NOVA expat, you’d think I was the team’s official west coast affiliate voice. Regardless I welcome the discussion.  It is an important one and I encourage you to continue it in the comments below.  I mean, I dress my children in Redskins merchandise. It is impossible for me not to give serious re-consideration to the things I let slide by my own moral compass.

As for how I feel about the name change, I will just quote my same old wishy-washy answer from another conversation. Because my brain is lazy today, yes, but also because it is truly how I feel, today, from all angles:

“As a lover of the contextual nuances of words it’s hard for me to entirely discredit any one of them based on any someone’s subjective interpretation. I am sticking to my pathetically ambiguous position that I have not been driven to outrage by the name but am the first to admit to a personal bias. I also don’t think that a name change will affect anything like legacy or ability to put product on the field. If I were ownership, I wouldn’t want to be upsetting anybody other than our rivals, so perhaps a name change is in our best interest. Barring the tribes, schools, and amateur teams that have hung their livelihood on an affiliation with the Washington Redskins, I think keeping the name so that we don’t piss off the Native Americans who profess to support it, is a weak and shameful argument the organization keeps making. I don’t appreciate how Danny is lately sticking to his guns solely for the financial incentive instead of working toward an amicable resolution. And as I keep saying, for the official football team of our nation’s capital, with its disgraceful track record on race, and history of native American genocide I would have thought this a conversation the powers that be would not have wanted to prolong for these 15 years.”-Me

To read the Washington Redskin’s official response to the trademark cancellation read this, from The Washington Post.

To read what everybody and their grandmother thinks about the issue, for, against, undecided or indifferent, click here.

 

J's first game

J’s first game

Ciao for now,

Dada Mike