I know a bunch of Chiefs fans.
Most are salt-of-earth Midwestern’s that simply want the red and yellow team to win another Super Bowl on Sunday. These fans aren’t racist.
These Chief fans are parents, too. And, because I can identify with these fans, I’d ask them for some help in answering a question my son, who is black, posed to me the other day:
“If the Washington Redskins changed their name, why are they still the Kansas City Chiefs?
Yosef, age 15
Hmm.
Great question.
I could have brushed off Yosef’s question with something generic, like:
“I’m sure they support the local Native American community – like Florida State teams say they do.”
or,
“Not sure. I think Washington finally succumbed to pressure from sponsors. It’s all about money, you know.”
or,
“Maybe they are considering it, and just haven’t yet.”
or,
I could tell him how I honestly feel – that the team names and symbols used by the Kansas City Chiefs, like the arrowhead, should be left to fossilize on the land that brutal explorers stole from Native Americans hundreds of years ago.
While I’ll leave the deep-dive into the suppression of Native Americans in the U.S. for someone else to tackle. If you’ve read the first few chapters of Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States, you certainly understand the deplorable ways in which ingenious people were treated by voyagers to the the land that was to become America. Whether it be Columbus, or others like him, the American Indian was not a person – they were tools, servants, savages, and animals.
We’ve come a long way from that line of thinking, right?
Maybe not.
Gillespie’s argument at the state level. cheap no prescription cialis Sexual problems in males comprise: Lack of ability to attain adequate erection and incapability to hold it for adequate time throughout sexual interaction- erectile dysfunction [ED]; absence of interest in sex- reduced libido; early ejaculation and Delayed or nil ejaculation. levitra 60 mg In IUI, pfizer viagra tablets these problems are directly addressed or bypassed altogether. Keep in mind that canadian cialis mastercard the showering filter needs to be replaced by those who will! David Wong has exclusive ideas to develop working rehabilitating programs for San Francisco County Jail prisoners.Fast forward hundreds of years and $500 (plus) million of star Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ contract later, and the Kansas City Chiefs advanced to this weekend’s Super Bowl by outlasting the Buffalo Bills. It shouldn’t be lost on us that the Chief adversary during the AFC Title game, their contextual equal in this case, was an animal.
How far have we come?
To their credit, the Chiefs have commented on the topic.
Management claims to have increased their outreach to Native American communities, discouraged their fans from wearing headdresses and face paint to games, and is exploring ways to eliminate or modify the “Tomahawk Chop” cheer in Arrowhead Stadium. The organization has introduced ceremonies to pay homage to Native American traditions such as the Blessing the Drums and the Blessing of the Four Directions.
Well done. But, not enough. It is time for the Kansas City football team to rebrand.
Just like the Washington Redskins and Cleveland Indians are doing.
Not only should those at the top of sports disband all Native American mascots, others should take note – any high schools, colleges, or private clubs that depict these symbols on their helmets, around their arenas, or on their jerseys – that it is high time for these mascots to be abandoned. According to an article in FiveThirtyEight, there are over 1,200 high school programs with such names.
Enough.
No matter the issue, as a parent, I find that if a complicated, sorted, heavily researched answer is required of a simple, innocent question by our kids, the logic behind such an act is immediately questionable.
I should have been able to answer Yosef easily, like, “The Chiefs should, and will be, changing the name soon. It just takes a bit.”
If we are a society growing in the awareness of our own racial biases, the Kansas City football team should change their name – now.
If we are parents that hope our children free the world of the ugly stain of our generations actions bedded in systematic oppression, all Native American school monikers must be abandoned – immediately.
If it requires little more sacrifice from us than buying a new jersey, we should be appalled that it isn’t yet done.
So, on Super Bowl Sunday, root for your team – even if it is the red and yellow. As you do, though, take note of an unfortunate irony. Look at the back of the Chiefs helmets – adorned with racially woke phrases like: “End Racism”, “Black Lives Matter”, or “It Takes Us All” – and compare them with the arrowhead symbols on each side.
Those messages don’t jive.
Tell your kids to take notice and hope for better, because in racism, as with raising children, there can be no mixed messages.
