Forget warm holiday cheer — the Washington Redskins awoke an army of angry Twitter followers on Thursday after wishing their fans a “Happy Thanksgiving” on the popular social media site.
Wishing you and your family a Happy #Thanksgiving. pic.twitter.com/qI3U7hbGhK
— Washington Redskins (@Redskins) November 26, 2015
The team’s name has drawn the ire of Native American activists and Democratic lawmakers who deem it offensive. Redskins owner Dan Snyder has stood firm in his decision not to change the name, despite a federal judge ordering the cancellation of the team’s trademark registrations this year.
Some individuals on Twitter accused the NFL team of being insensitive Thursday, due to the Thanksgiving holiday’s historic ties to the Pilgrims and Native Americans.
Can you believe the gall of this organization to tweet this? https://t.co/VnDqRV3zjJ
— Luke Thomas (@lthomasnews) November 26, 2015
Wooooow maybe you shouldn’t be the team to tweet this…. then again you still have a racist name. https://t.co/dTI4Q1r8Hz
— ???Dario Morgendorffer??? (@KingV_TheRuler) November 26, 2015
Others used humor to convey their disappointment in the team’s holiday wishes.
Prob just pass the plate on this tweet.. https://t.co/ye4nas4qZH
— Brock Gaubert (@gobear3) November 26, 2015
*schedules tweet; throws phone into a river* https://t.co/1EqINOkpHq
— Maxi Rodriguez (@FutbolIntellect) November 26, 2015
I’m thankful for the irony of this tweet… https://t.co/686zZKbQ3n
— Matt Maisel (@Matt_Maisel) November 26, 2015
A local news station, FOX 5 DC, used Twitter’s new polling feature to survey how many users found the Redskins’ original tweet offensive.
Do you find the @Redskins #Thanksgiving tweet offensive? See it here: https://t.co/uAtKgt95an #TwitterPolls
— FOX 5 DC (@fox5dc) November 26, 2015
Shortly after noon, 311 users had voted in the poll. Eighty-two percent indicated they did not find the tweet offensive while 18 percent said they did.
