The Washington Redskins changed their name to the Washington Commanders over the perceived “racism” of the term “Redskins,” though not all American Indians are happy about the change and many are organizing in an attempt to pressure the team into changing it back. The team, as could be expected, wants to avoid the controversy and so is trying to quiet down and pro-Redskins sentiment by slandering the group calling for a return.
Aa background, the group pushing for the name to be changed back is called the Native American Guardians Association. They announced their demands in a letter penned by President Eunice Davidson, then released on Twitter. In the letter, Davidson said the group is “Formally Requesting The Team Revitalize it’s Relationship With The American Indian Community & Rightfully Change Their Name Back to ‘The Redskins.'”
Continuing, Davidson characterized the fight as being about civil liberties, saying, “This is not a partisan issue; it reaches across the political spectrum dating back to our Founding Fathers. The Native American Guardian’s Association (NAGA) stands up for and is not only fighting back to preserve key elements of American History and the 1st and 14th Amendment, NAGA is fighting for the civil liberties of EVERY American.”
Explaining how rights are implicated, she wrote, “Americans see they are losing their rights because of a vicious cancel culture that shows little care for their concerns or civil liberties; It is time to support leaders, brands and organizations who will stand with EVERY AMERICAN, rather than fighting against them.”
And, making the request that the name be changed back, Davidson said, “At this moment in history, we are formally requesting that the team revitalize its relationship with the American Indian community by (I) changing the name back to ‘The Redskins” which recognizes America’s original inhabitants and (ii) using the team’s historic name and legacy to encourage Americans to learn about, not cancel, the history of America’s tribes and our role in the founding of this Great Nation.”
As could be predicted, the Commanders did not change the name back and instead called NAGA a fake group, despite their petition getting over 100,000 signatures. That was Matthew Laux, a premium-seat sales manager for the Commanders and FedEx Field, who wrote, “You understand the people that started this petition is a fake group, right?”
So, Davidson appeared on Fox News to hammer the team for that slanderous claim, saying, “We’re not a fake group. We’re tribal-enrolled members from tribes across the United States.” Continuing, Davidson said, “People want to call us fake and they’ve done that before. They never tell our story and that’s their goal. To wipe out Native history. It’s discrimination when you go after one culture like this.”
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