Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan will lead a protest alongside Native American leaders against the Washington Redskins at Thursday night’s football game in Minneapolis.
Flanagan, who is the state’s first lieutenant governor with Native American heritage, wrote an op-ed in HuffPost where she explained why she believes the Redskins logo is offensive and should be replaced.
She claimed that her 6-year-old daughter recently saw a promotion for the Thursday night game between the Redskins and Vikings.
“I saw the confusion as she took in this distorted caricature of her people. Deep red complexion. Long, black hair. Big caveman-like nose. And a feather, like the one we use in prayer, attached to the logo,” Flanagan wrote.
She said her daughter questioned the depiction, saying, “Mommy, that’s not okay. We’re people, not mascots.”
Flanagan explained that she would lead a protest outside the game on Thursday in hopes that the team will rebrand.
“As the Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota, I am honored and humbled to be the highest-ranking Native woman elected to executive office in the history of the United States,” Flanagan wrote. “In this role ― and in my role as a mom ― I will march with fellow Minnesotans who are making clear that our state does not tolerate a racist mascot.”
The Redskins brand has been a point of controversy for several years as other teams, such as baseball’s Cleveland Indians, abandon mascots deemed offensive.
