All About The Name

Dan Snyder, the owner of the Washington Redskins, has always done things his way for better or worse. It hasn't been a successful endeavor in most cases. He as gone through numerous coaches. However, I agree with one thing. He is adamant abut keeping the nickname for his team.

The Washington Redskins have been under fire for decades by groups who oppose naming a team that some feel is derogatory to Native Americans.

In a recent Associated Press poll of 1,004 Americans, 79% agree that the name should be kept. The approval level was higher in 1989 when the last poll was taken. Back then, 89% were ok with it.

I don't think this issue will ever go away. When I enrolled at UMass in the fall of 1971, the teams were the UMass Redmen. That only lasted another year before they were forced to change to the Minutemen.

In recent years, the school has fought off a protest to change the name of the team again. Some felt that the Minutemen symbolized violence and was sexist in its name. They wanted the teams to become the Grey Wolves.