Why this Redskin likes Native American nicknames in sport

Published July 22, 2020 4:00am ET



Last week, the Washington Redskins announced that they will change their team name and logo, which some say are offensive to Native Americans. This decision by the team came less than two weeks after FedEx, the corporate sponsor which holds the naming rights to the Redskins’ home stadium, sent a letter to team owner Dan Snyder threatening to withhold the FedEx brand from the stadium unless the team was renamed.

Those who have followed the story of FedEx’s ultimatum to Snyder know that the Redskins logo was created by the one-time President of the National Congress of American Indians, Walter “Blackie” Wetzel, in 1971. The Redskins’ logo is a profile of Two Guns White Calf, a Blackfoot chief.

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