The only silver lining in the recent Redskins dysfunction is that the internal strife has pushed external complaints regarding the team’s name to the back burner.
That changes this week, with Oneida Indian Nation launching radio campaigns in Detroit and Baltimore. The first ads not tied to the Redskins playing a game in a given city, the spots to be aired on Detroit’s WXYT-FM and Baltimore’s WBAL-AM commemorates the coming day of thanks and reflection.
“Thanksgiving is a holiday emphasizing the ideals of inclusion and mutual respect, and is a time when we give thanks,” Oneida Indian Nation representative Ray Halbritter said. “We would like to express our appreciation to everyone who has spoken out about the important moral and civil rights issue of changing the Washington football team’s name. Change the Mascot supporters have sent a powerful message to the NFL that no group deserves to be treated as the target of a hurtful racial slur, and that Native Americans should be treated as what we are: Americans.”
The full ad can be heard here.
The NFL, the Redskins, and the Oneida Indian Nation remain at impasse regarding a name change.