By Ronald N. Guy Jr.
This time last year, Washington owner Daniel Snyder had a
big problem. His football team couldn’t stay out of the headlines. Excessive
attention isn’t normally a problem for the master marketer, but the press
wasn’t for wins or losses, outrageous free agent contracts or the social media
trials and tribulations of the team’s sensitive starting quarterback. Such
football-related topics would have been welcomed. What flaw in Snyder’s
billion-dollar biz was being virally attacked? Something it couldn’t escape:
the team’s name.
Critics appeared on television and in print. A bloodthirsty
posse emerged from the deepest regions of cyberspace. The crusaders of right
wielded pens and spewed passionate prose. They tickled keyboards and barked
into cameras. Anyone and everyone with a platform was stepping up and taking
their cuts at Snyder’s dangling burgundy and gold piñata. The Daily Show took its
shots. Bob Costas and Keith Olbermann had their turn. So
did I. The media mob couldn’t hope to be contained by the sports pages. Oh
no, this story had crossover appeal. It was a pop culture lightening rod.
Rolling Stone gave
it some run. The New Yorker put it ON THE
COVER! War had been declared on the “R” word.
Despite the valid arguments, the breadth and depth of which
would have rattled even the most ardent supporter, Snyder stood, arm-crossed
and defiant. He knew what the term meant. He had questionable data to validate
his position and his fan base – allegedly – was behind him. Everyone else was
wrong. Change the name? Not on his watch. The Affordable Health Care Act would
have a better chance of passing through the current Congress. The R—skins and
all the associated Native American imagery would never change.
Snyder was so emboldened that he stared his misguided
adversaries in the eye and launched an offensive. He issued a letter in the
fall of 2013 describing the R-word as an honorable term representing pride and
tradition. Then, in a letter issued in March of last year, Snyder touted an
extensive tour he took through Native American reservations around the country.
In his letter, Snyder noted the serious issues facing many Native American
communities, made a commitment to help and announced the beginning of the
Original Americans Foundations (OAF), the mission of which “is to provide
meaningful and measurable resources that provide genuine opportunities for
Tribal communities.”
I wanted it to be a genuine sign of compassion and, perhaps,
the first step toward an eventual name change. I feared it was organization
based in more politics than charity. A year later, my wants have faded and my
fears appear realized. The OAF’s
website contains littler more than a mission statement, Snyder’s
aforementioned letter, a picture from the owner’s tour and news updates that
desperately need…well…updating (the latest entry is from March 2014). I also
found no reference to the OAF on the team’s official
website.
Undaunted, I turned to a tried and true information source:
Google. Again, there was nothing of substance for months. Keeping hope alive, I
emailed the OAF and the team requesting information – any information – on the
organization’s recent activity. To date, I have not received a response.
(sigh)
In Snyder’s March 2014 letter, he said, “The Washington
Redskins Original Americans Foundation will serve as a living, breathing legacy
– and an ongoing reminder – of the heritage and tradition that is the
Washington Redskins.” A year later, the OAF appears to be either idle or the
most stealth philanthropic organization in history. If the former is true, it
is sad commentary on ‘Skins of Washington and the NFL…and there’s no reasonably
available evidence to think otherwise.
In Batman Begins, the Caped Crusader said, “It’s not
who you are underneath, it’s what you do that defines you.” On changing the
name, Snyder’s actions define him as a staunch R-word preservationalist.
Regarding the original promises of the OAF, the franchise’s trail of action has
gone cold. But maybe I missed something. Perhaps Snyder and the OAF continue
to, in accordance with its mission statement, “tackle the troubling realities
facing so many tribes across our country.” I’d love to be proven wrong. I’d
love to just get an email acknowledging my queries.
Until then, I’m left to surmise that what Snyder really
sought last year was what he got: a tempering of the “change the name” flames.
It has slipped below the headlines. It isn’t a daily story anymore. Many
one-time champions of change have fallen silent. Maybe their passion still
burns. Human nature being what it is, I suppose anger and outrage are usually
just temporary states. However, lacking constant opposition, Snyder, the one
person whose opinion really matters, doesn’t appear inclined to do anything…not
even to update a website that’s gone stale just a year after a passionate
launch.
No comments:
Post a Comment