In 2014, the idea of being politically correct, or P.C., has festered into all aspects of society, especially in the sport’s world. Recently, the Washington Redskins have come under some pressure from Native American rights groups as a result of their controversial name and logo. The idea of changing the names of teams who use Native American names and logos has long been debated. However this summer, the issue became well known amongst many Americans, to the point where Congressional leaders and officials have taken sides on the issue. To be fair, we must look at both sides of the argument in order to allow everyone to come to their own conclusion about whether or not sports teams should be able to use Native American names and logos.

The movement to eradicate the use of Native American names and logos in sports teams began in the early 1960s, as Native Americans launched their own Civil Rights Movement. Let’s look into why the use of certain names and logos are so controversial; we will  begin by analyzing everything wrong with the names of two teams: The Cleveland Indians, and the Washington Redskins. Firstly, the fact that the baseball team is called the “Indians” is both politically incorrect and racist, as the people the team portrays are not Indian, rather they are Native American. Secondly, the team uses a giant Native American head as their logo, he is both red-skinned and wearing a stereotypical Native American headdress. For those who see nothing wrong with this, I ask that they visualize the image I am about to describe. Imagine if a team was called the Cleveland Africans, and had a Black man as their logo, or if they were called the Cleveland Asians, and featured a Chinese man as their logo. We can clearly see what is wrong with using other races in sports, yet we continue to perpetuate negative stereotypes of Native Americans in sports, without realizing what is wrong with it. Now let us investigate the Redskins and their controversial name and logo. As you’re reading this, sound out the word Redskin. We are quite literally naming a team after what was once believed to be the Native American’s skin color. The team’s logo features a Native American with very dark skin—once again imagines if the Redskins changed their name to the Blackskins and featured a Black man as their logo. We see what is wrong with naming teams after Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians, yet we see no issue with naming them after Native Americans?

In order to avoid bias and be fair, the defense must always be considered and investigated, hence why The Current also looked into what defenders of the use of Native American names and logos in sports teams had to say. Technically the use of the term Redskin on television is illegal, as the FCC has threatened to fine announcers who use the term. Some see this as a direct violation of the First Amendment. These pundits would argue the free speech of both the announcers and the football organization is being infringed on. Teams are private businesses and as such, can name their teams as they wish. While the term may not be morally right or politically correct, it shouldn’t be illegal to use. Other defenders of the name argue that people outside of Washington D.C. are calling for the change of the team’s name; they believe they shouldn’t have to change the name of the team if the people of D.C. support the team and the team name. Some professional sports teams even pay Native American tribes to use the team name. Take Florida State for example. Florida State pays each member of the Seminole Tribe a certain amount of money to use the name Seminole. Many members of the Seminole Tribe are affected by unemployment and poverty, meaning the money they receive from the University is their only source of income. If the Seminoles are okay with Florida State using the name and are making money off of the use of the name, why are the politically correct outsiders trying to weigh in?

The debate over the use of Native American logos and names has a long and ugly history, yet the controversy remains far from resolved. As America transforms into a nation that promotes the use of P.C. terms and names, will we see professional sports teams change their names? Both sides of the argument have been presented, so should the use of these names and logos be abolished, or should we continue to stand by idly and allow businesses and tribes negotiate terms and conditions?