Following Washington’s statement Monday that the name of the current team would be withdrawn, The Washington Post columnist and ESPN panelist Kevin Blackistone shared his issues with the launch on Twitter.
No apologies AND given the new suggested names and @PostSports report https://t.co/D6LQQyhFdR that the natives have not been consulted, this is a racist approach to solving a racist problem. https://t.co/TuZR1rTMre
– Kevin B. Blackistone (@ProfBlackistone) July 13, 2020
During an interview on ESPN 92.9FM’s Jason & John Show on Monday, Blackistone explained the issues he had with the statement.
“My first thought was ‘Where’s the apology?’ My second thought was, ‘This is fake because you still have the letterhead here with the name just dazzling,’ “Blackistone said.
Blackistone, who is also a professor at the University of Maryland, had mentioned the nonexistent apology in his tweet. The fact that the name and logo of the retiring team were still used in a statement describing the upcoming change led him to believe that the team really didn’t care. That’s something Blackistone feels became even more apparent when one considers how the team’s new name is chosen.
Among all the options for the Washington nickname, which is intended to honor the franchise’s heritage and tradition, that have been considered, Blackistone noted that, to his knowledge, the Native American community has not been much involved in the decision.
“And my third thought was: ‘What do you have to say about the name you’re considering since you haven’t even given a voice or heard to the native people you’ve insulted since you bought the equipment 21 years ago and I had a chance to do this earlier, ‘”Blackistone said.
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Blackistone disagreed with the statement. Sports addicts felt they were not answering questions, ESPN’s Michael Wilbon called him “annoying” and “deaf” and ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio saw it as “a final act of defiance” by team owner Dan Snyder.
The combination of all the missing elements in the statement made it less shocking to Blackistone. Despite being a great moment, there was not much to remove from the team announcement.
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That’s something Blackistone believes comes from the reasoning behind the name change in the first place. Washington has listened to backlash over the name for years, but it wasn’t until big-name sponsors questioned the league’s monetary situation that real moves were made. Blackistone sees that as a symbol that Snyder’s decision to change the name has nothing to do with right or wrong.
“There is nothing altruistic about what is happening,” Blackistone said of Snyder. “He is being forced at the time of the bayonets to change the team.”
“Basically sponsors, not individual team sponsors, but team sponsors throughout the NFL,” said Blackistone. “Which means that now it’s not just his pockets, but the other 31 owners’ pockets that are starting to hurt. That’s why the move is being made.”
All Blackistone had to do to understand Snyder’s true opinion on the name change is to look back on what the owner has said about the situation in the past. The only difference with Blackistone now is that if Snyder continued to speak the same way, some believe it could result in Snyder losing the team.
“This is a guy who infamously said seven years ago that he would never change his name, and that he could capitalize ‘never’,” Blackistone said. Well, he’s never come home to perch and has to change his name or get out of the league. “
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