The NBA Finals won’t be limited to another clash between the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs Tuesday night. An anti-Redskins team name advertisement that will air during halftime will likely add fuel to the simmering controversy over the nickname of Washington, D.C.’s pro football squad.
The 60-second clip, entitled “Proud to Be,” is sponsored by the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, a Native American tribe based in California. The tribe hasn’t divulged how much it paid for the coveted halftime spot, but views the cost as a worthwhile “investment” towards combatting racism.
The clip displays a photo montage of Native Americans from the past and present, as a voice-over lists a series of adjectives and names associated with Native American culture, such as “Indian,” “Navajo,” “Survivor,” and “Chief.” The voice-over then intones, “Native Americans call themselves many things. The one thing they don’t …” and the screen cuts to an image of a Redskins helmet.
The ad was produced by the National Congress of American Indians, and will air in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Sacramento, San Francisco and Washington during the basketball broadcast, according to The Washington Post.
In a video detailing why his tribe chose to get involved in the Redskins name controversy, Chairman Marshall McKay spoke about the pain his tribe has experienced because of racism and declared that the ” ‘R Word’ is just as derogatory as the ‘N Word.’ ”
Tribal Secretary Jay Kinter added that the “Change the Mascot” campaign is “larger than Yoche Dehe or any one tribe” and is really “about all tribal people and non-tribal people raising their voices in protest.” He also expressed his hope that “other sports … will also take heed to what is going on here” and eliminate “mascots that are essentially making fun of Native American people.”
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has been among a number of lawmakers in the nation’s capital calling for its football team to drop the Redskins moniker. He was one of 50 senators to sign a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell tying the controversy of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling’s racist remarks to the Redskins name-change issue.
“What message does it send to punish slurs against African Americans while endorsing slurs against Native Americans?” the letter read.
