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In almost six months since he became the new head coach of the Washington franchise, Ron Rivera had not been asked about the team’s controversial name. Monday it was.
During an interview on Monday afternoon at 670 The Score’s McNeil and Parkins ShowRivera faced the issue. “I think it’s a discussion for another time,” Rivera said, adding that the team’s name was “always part of soccer” when he was a boy.
If it’s a discussion for another time, when is that other time? Many would say that if this is not the right time, there is no right time. “
“I think it is all about the moment and the moment,” Rivera added. “But, you know, I’m someone from a different era than when soccer wasn’t such an important part of the political scene. You know, that’s one of the difficult things for me, too, is that I’ve always wanted to try and keep that separate. People wanted me to get involved in politics, you know, when I was training and I was saying, ‘It’s not for me to go up here and influence people.’ I have my beliefs, I know what I think, you know, I support the movements, you know, I support the players. I believe in what they are doing and, again, you know, I think there are certain elements in certain things that are about the time and the best time to discuss those things. “
Okay, but it goes against the general message sent by Rivera two weeks ago in an email to all the team’s employees, where he explained that an internal city council discussion had given him “a new perspective on many of the social problems They have stood out and learned a lot after listening to all of their stories, experiences and suggestions on how our organization can make a difference to help make our community safer for people of color. ” He also said that the city council meeting is “just the beginning and we still want to hear your suggestions on how we as an organization can take action in the fight against social injustice and police brutality, with an invitation to” reflect on our discussions. last week and really digging and doing a little research to come up with additional ideas that we can implement to improve our community. “
Those messages to team employees came days after Rivera made this public statement: “I have been tasked with leading this entire organization, and I have always believed in the mantra that actions speak louder than words.”
The only action that makes sense right now is to change the name. It is an insult defined by the dictionary, with the only safe port of the computer coming from a faulty 2016 Washington Post survey of self-identifying Native Americans, only nine percent of whom are offended by the name. (As if nine percent is acceptable).
And it seems that, as the NFL is doing with Colin Kaepernick, Rivera could be trying to run out of time, hoping that the pressure to change the name right now will ease at a time when people are paying attention to another thing.
