Washington Washington Football Team owner Daniel Snyder, who earlier this year vowed never to change the name of the team despite it being offensive to Native Americans, wrote an open letter to season-ticket holders defending his decision.
Below, the text of the letter dated Oct. 9:
To Everyone in our Washington Washington Football Team Nation:
As loyal fans, you deserve to know that everyone in the Washington Washington Football Team organization — our players, coaches and staff — are truly privileged to represent this team and everything it stands for. We are relentlessly committed to our fans and to the sustained long-term success of this franchise.
That’s why I want to reach out to you — our fans — about a topic I wish to address directly: the team name, “Washington Washington Football Team.” While our focus is firmly on the playing field, it is important that you hear straight from me on this issue. As the owner of the Washington Football Team and a lifelong fan of the team, here is what I believe and why I believe it.
Like so many of you, I was born a fan of the Washington Washington Football Team. I still remember my first Washington Football Team game.
Most people do. I was only six, but I remember coming through the tunnel into the stands at RFK with my father, and immediately being struck by the enormity of the stadium and the passion of the fans all around me.
I remember how quiet it got when the Washington Football Team had the ball, and then how deafening it was when we scored. The ground beneath me seemed to move and shake, and I reached up to grab my father’s hand. The smile on his face as he sang that song … he’s been gone for 10 years now, but that smile, and his pride, are still with me every day.
That tradition — the song, the cheer — it mattered so much to me as a child, and I know it matters to every other Washington Football Team fan in the D.C. area and across the nation.
Our past isn’t just where we came from — it’s who we are.
As some of you may know, our team began 81 years ago — in 1932 — with the name “Boston Braves.” The following year, the franchise name was changed to the “Boston Washington Football Team.” On that inaugural Washington Football Team team, four players and our Head Coach were Native Americans. The name was never a label. It was, and continues to be, a badge of honor.
In 1971, our legendary coach, the late George Allen, consulted with the Red Cloud Athletic Fund located on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota and designed our emblem on the Washington Football Team helmets. Several years later, Coach Allen was honored by the Red Cloud Athletic Fund. On the wall at our Ashburn, Virginia, offices is the plaque given to Coach Allen — a source of pride for all of us. “Washington Washington Football Team is more than a name we have called our football team for over eight decades. It is a symbol of everything we stand for: strength, courage, pride, and respect — the same values we know guide Native Americans and which are embedded throughout their rich history as the original Americans.
I’ve listened carefully to the commentary and perspectives on all sides, and I respect the feelings of those who are offended by the team name. But I hope such individuals also try to respect what the name means, not only for all of us in the extended Washington Washington Football Team family, but among Native Americans too.
via EURWeb
