Fan Pulse: Redskins fans react to judge’s ruling

By Neal Coolong  |   Monday, July 14, 2008  |  Comments( 3 )

Washington Redskins
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The wheels keep turning in Washington.

A 16-year-old dispute between Native American activists and the Redskinswill extend for a while longer, as U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly wrote in her ruling dated June 25 that the youngest of the seven Native American plaintiffs waited too long after turning 18 to file the lawsuit that looks to ban the Redskins name and logos.

In 1999, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office determined the name to be offensive enough to cancel the trademark, but Kollar-Kotelly overturned that decision in 2003 -- partially because the suit was created decades after the Redskins were given the trademark in 1967.

Redskins fans at hailRedskins.com are weighing in on the issue in a thread titled "Redskins Name Lawsuit Thrown out." At the root of the issue, on both sides, is how the name "Redskins" is interpreted.

One poster notes his impression that many Native Americans in the Washington, D.C., area are in support of the team and the name.

"Most Native Americans that I know, like the Redskins and are fans. The ones I know actually like having a team that represents their culture."

Another sheds some light on where the name itself might have been derived.

"An NC Cherokee explained it to me once: she said that the Potomac area natives were also Cherokee and they were called Redskins by other Cherokee because they would smear red clay on their face before battle. So, they didn't find it offensive."

A few posters accused the founder of the franchise, George Marshall, of being a known racist in the days when he changed the team name from the Boston Braves to the Boston Redskins and eventually moved it to Washington, D.C. But does the issue itself lie solely in where the nickname was reputed to have been made? As the earlier poster indicated, the name could have been created with honorable intentions.

One poster not only seems to see the honorable version of the name, but suggests the perception of that name being changeable.

"Let's just rename ourselves the 'Redskins,' after the Cherokee who smeared the red clay on their faces, and call it a day."
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About Neal Coolong

Neal Coolong is a freelance sports writer with contributions to Scout.com, AOL and Steelers Live. He lives with his fiance in St. Paul, Minn., and saves every dime (that she knows about) for their wedding next June. He's already made the prediction that the Steelers 2007 draft class will be one...
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