Chiefs Woman behind the Redskins name change says the Chiefs should be on guard - Page 14

**BigRedChief** · 06-25-2014, 11:01 PM

The fight took a monumental shift at a protest nine years at Arrowhead Stadium and it’s about to come full circle. No matter what you think of the issue, it will soon be ubiquitous in and around Kansas City’s greatest obsession other than barbecue.

The Chiefs are aware of it, and are preparing accordingly.

Back in 2005, a group calling itself Not In Our Honor protested before the Chiefs played Washington. The protesters were predominately American Indians, united in their anger over what they perceived as offensive stereotypes passed off as nicknames for sports teams. An older woman, Suzan Harjo, one of the leaders of the protest, met a younger woman named Amanda Blackhorse, then a student at Kansas.
They bonded over their passion for the issue, and that’s how the case known as Blackhorse et al v. Pro-Football Inc. came to be. Last week the plaintiffs prevailed when the United States Patent and Trademark Office canceled the trademarks of the Washington Redskins.

The case is under appeal, but you should know that the woman who took on and (at least for the moment) defeated the corporate entity that owns Washington’s NFL team would like to see the same type of case brought against the Chiefs.
As she says, the spark that started back in 2005 at Arrowhead has created a fire that will probably soon return.

“What happens there, it’s just insane the things they allow to go on,” Blackhorse says of the Chiefs and Arrowhead. “They are definitely in the group (of offensive teams), for sure.”

For now, the Chiefs are publicly silent on this. But they know the fight is likely coming, and they hope a few things work in their favor — most notably that it’s tough to compare their nickname with the one in Washington that is a dictionary-defined racial slur. Blackhorse’s group has also protested baseball’s Cleveland Indians, and that team has greatly scaled back its use of the cartoonish Chief Wahoo logo.

The Chiefs have similarly scaled back some of their more obvious plays on Indian stereotypes, and they hope they have some other advantages when the fight comes. The team is named after H. Roe Bartle, the mayor who was key in Kansas City landing the team from Dallas in 1962. Bartle’s nickname was “The Chief.”

The team stopped using a man dressed in traditional headgear as a mascot during pregame festivities many years ago. In the early 1990s, many of the Chiefs’ defensive players posed for a poster that today both looks absolutely ridiculous and would never be recreated.
The team does, however, play the tomahawk chop during games and welcomes fans in headgear and other stereotypes of Native American dress.

Those are some of the parts of the game day experience that Blackhorse calls “insane,” and why she expects a fight that’s gaining momentum and support nationally to come to Kansas City.

She knows that the vast majority of Chiefs fans will oppose her, but she also knows that the vast majority of fans in Washington opposed her, as well.

She says there is “no middle ground with this issue,” that once an ethnic group is used as a nickname for a sports team, the people in that ethic group lose control of their identity and humanity.

“I don’t want people to think I’m going around pointing fingers, like, ‘You’re a racist, you’re a racist, you’re a racist,’ ” she says. “That’s not the point. The point is we’re offended. You can love Native Americans to death. You can have admiration, love what we do, how we are, whatever, and still (hijack) our culture without understanding it that way.”

Wherever you stand on this issue, there is no denying that Blackhorse’s side is making progress. Teams are sensitive to and aware of perpetuating stereotypes so much more than in the past, in response to public sentiment.

The issue is further complicated by context, that this is a fight centered around Indians, who make up about 1 percent of the nation’s population and who, in Blackhorse’s words, “are invisible sometimes to people.”
That makes getting the message out a bit more difficult. A group of people that feels offended by widespread stereotyping isn’t big enough to get critical mass on its own.

That’s why Blackhorse says the movement needs the help of non-Indians, and part of why she’s so encouraged by developments in Congress and with the trademark case.

There is a lot of momentum here, which can be dangerous for teams like the Chiefs that will likely soon find themselves directly in the fight.
“I’m not sure there’s anything the (Chiefs) can do at this point other than look for another name,” Blackhorse says. “They could be the team that says, ‘You know what? We understand the issue and we don’t want to be Dan Snyder and fight this in court forever. We want to do the right thing and move forward and avoid this entire battle.’ I’m sure fans will be upset, but still, that’s doing the right thing.

“If they want to be sensitive to Native American people, that’s the thing to do.”

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt...#storylink=cpy

Early 90's

ToxSocks · 06-26-2014, 01:12 PM

This bitch needs to smoke some peyote and chill the ****.

keg in kc · 06-26-2014, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andoverer

Why do all that? Why not just say no to stupidity?

Because it would be a smart way to try and avoid spending millions on stupid litigation?

**MahiMike** · 06-26-2014, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

Proactive steps the Chiefs could take (and maybe should take) to head off the lawsuit:

1) Stop playing the tomahawk chop song, stop selling tomahawks in the stadium, and play over it any time the fans start a tomahawk chop on their own.

2) Issue a new policy making it against stadium policy to wear mock Native American garb in the stadium or on the grounds/parking lot. And then enforce it (force people to change out of that garb before entering the stadium).

3) Name something in the stadium after the "Chief" mayor the team is supposedly named after, and make that a part of the pre-game in some way. Play that factor up.

For names like the Chiefs (Or the Braves, or the Indians) that are really difficult to sell as a racial slur, I doubt this picks up the same steam, but why not address some of the complaints proactively?

It's certainly a better look than the one Daniel Snyder is currently sporting.

Do not give in to terrorists. Snyder and hunt should give them the finger. Tell them to go **** themselves.

TLO · 06-26-2014, 01:19 PM

Blow it out your ass bitch.

Reerun_KC · 06-26-2014, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KC native

Not concerned at all but you're the reerun that has stated more than once, "I'm Native American and I'm not offended so don't change the Redskins name since I'm Native American and I'm not offended."

The irony and racism in this post is amusing...

I find you offensive and think you should be banned from life.

**loochy** · 06-26-2014, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KC native

It goes back to last week.

daaaamn

you be all like purple-black up in heah

JoeyChuckles · 06-26-2014, 01:26 PM

If we had to change the name, I'd take the Monarchs in a second. I wouldn't even be mad.

duncan_idaho · 06-26-2014, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MahiMike

Do not give in to terrorists. Snyder and hunt should give them the finger. Tell them to go **** themselves.

It's not giving in to "terrorists" (and honestly, that you'd refer to American citizens pursuing what they perceive as their rights through all avenues available to them is worrisome). At all.

It's cutting off potential threats, something that smart businesses and smart CEOs do all the time.

Is being one of 20,000 teams that do the Tomahawks chop worth a huge, costly and annoying lawsuit?

Is celebrating your team origins and honoring the man who helped bring your team to KC giving in at all? (That's just good PR and honestly is something they probably should have been doing already, regardless of threats about the name/offensive behavior).

I get that the whole thing I included about the way people dress seems pretty drastic to some, but it would be far from the first time a team has instituted a dress code for one reason or other. The University of Illinois, as I mentioned earlier, has one that is very similar to what I suggested.

Some proactive steps would allow the Chiefs a lot more control over the process, buy them goodwill, weaken potential lawsuits, and save the team money, annoyance and embarrassment.

ThaVirus · 06-26-2014, 01:34 PM

Native does have a point.

Any time these types of threads come around we see just how "diverse" CP actually is. Apparently, about 85% of you are 1/4 Blackfoot. It's just so comical when you guys step in here with your tirade "I'm 1/16th Cherokee and I'm not offended so why could anyone else possibly be!?!"

You're not Native American, bitch, you're ****ing white as shit. Sit your ass down somewhere.

ToxSocks · 06-26-2014, 01:36 PM

If i were pure white bread, i'd be looking into suing the Yankee and Cowboys.

"Cowboys are not Mascots"

Yankee is an offensive slur towards white people.

Texas residents should sue the Texans.

"Texans aren't mascots, we're people".

Pirates should sue the raiders and buccs.

Gays should sue the Packers. heh.

Reerun_KC · 06-26-2014, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

Native does have a point.

Any time these types of threads come around we see just how "diverse" CP actually is. Apparently, about 85% of you are 1/4 Blackfoot. It's just so comical when you guys step in here with your tirade "I'm 1/16th Cherokee and I'm not offended so why could anyone else possibly be!?!"

You're not Native American, bitch, you're ****ing white as shit. Sit your ass down somewhere.

Boo Hoo...

Just a few Debbie wanna be do gooders our there trying to force their opinion on everyone else...

You little bitches can cry me a ****ing river and die in a flaming bucket of aids.... I dont like your opinion nor do I give a shit about your opinion or views...

This is Merica bitch... Suck it...

And I left 1/128 of my indian in your mom...

Contrarian · 06-26-2014, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

It's not giving in to "terrorists" (and honestly, that you'd refer to American citizens pursuing what they perceive as their rights through all avenues available to them is worrisome). At all.

It's cutting off potential threats, something that smart businesses and smart CEOs do all the time.

Is being one of 20,000 teams that do the Tomahawks chop worth a huge, costly and annoying lawsuit?

Is celebrating your team origins and honoring the man who helped bring your team to KC giving in at all? (That's just good PR and honestly is something they probably should have been doing already, regardless of threats about the name/offensive behavior).

I get that the whole thing I included about the way people dress seems pretty drastic to some, but it would be far from the first time a team has instituted a dress code for one reason or other. The University of Illinois, as I mentioned earlier, has one that is very similar to what I suggested.

Some proactive steps would allow the Chiefs a lot more control over the process, buy them goodwill, weaken potential lawsuits, and save the team money, annoyance and embarrassment.

Eh they make enough money off casinos and fireworks **** em. Don't pay em off that's stupid.

ToxSocks · 06-26-2014, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

Native does have a point.

Any time these types of threads come around we see just how "diverse" CP actually is. Apparently, about 85% of you are 1/4 Blackfoot. It's just so comical when you guys step in here with your tirade "I'm 1/16th Cherokee and I'm not offended so why could anyone else possibly be!?!"

You're not Native American, bitch, you're ****ing white as shit. Sit your ass down somewhere.

I bring this up all the time. It's something i noticed back in elementary school and i've been making fun of white people for it ever since. It's hilarious.

White people can never just be white. There is ALWAYS, ALWAYS some white guy in the room that's 1/8 cherokee or 1/10 Blackfoot.

ALWAYS. It's so funny.

I'll always remember the first white person who did it. I was in the 3rd grade. Some little pasty, blonde white girl...."I'm 1/8th blah blah blah and 1/16" blah blah blah".

I just had to give her an epic 9 year old facepalm.

And ever since then, it's never failed. Whenever ethnicities are brought up there is ALWAYS some white guy who is part indian. Always. And i laugh about it every time.

**MahiMike** · 06-26-2014, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

It's not giving in to "terrorists" (and honestly, that you'd refer to American citizens pursuing what they perceive as their rights through all avenues available to them is worrisome). At all.

It's cutting off potential threats, something that smart businesses and smart CEOs do all the time.

Is being one of 20,000 teams that do the Tomahawks chop worth a huge, costly and annoying lawsuit?

Is celebrating your team origins and honoring the man who helped bring your team to KC giving in at all? (That's just good PR and honestly is something they probably should have been doing already, regardless of threats about the name/offensive behavior).

I get that the whole thing I included about the way people dress seems pretty drastic to some, but it would be far from the first time a team has instituted a dress code for one reason or other. The University of Illinois, as I mentioned earlier, has one that is very similar to what I suggested.

Some proactive steps would allow the Chiefs a lot more control over the process, buy them goodwill, weaken potential lawsuits, and save the team money, annoyance and embarrassment.

Terrorism has nothing to do with what country you are from. A terrorist holds something hostage and demands payment. In this case, it's our favorite team. Conceding even the slightest will only make them more powerful.

Garcia Bronco · 06-26-2014, 01:43 PM

like I said...Chief is not a native american word. It's a french one...so tell'em to **** off.

06-25-2014, 11:01 PM
BigRedChief Has a particular set of skills Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: On the water Casino cash: $2659627 VARSITY	Woman behind the Redskins name change says the Chiefs should be on guard The fight took a monumental shift at a protest nine years at Arrowhead Stadium and it’s about to come full circle. No matter what you think of the issue, it will soon be ubiquitous in and around Kansas City’s greatest obsession other than barbecue. The Chiefs are aware of it, and are preparing accordingly. Back in 2005, a group calling itself Not In Our Honor protested before the Chiefs played Washington. The protesters were predominately American Indians, united in their anger over what they perceived as offensive stereotypes passed off as nicknames for sports teams. An older woman, Suzan Harjo, one of the leaders of the protest, met a younger woman named Amanda Blackhorse, then a student at Kansas. They bonded over their passion for the issue, and that’s how the case known as Blackhorse et al v. Pro-Football Inc. came to be. Last week the plaintiffs prevailed when the United States Patent and Trademark Office canceled the trademarks of the Washington Redskins. The case is under appeal, but you should know that the woman who took on and (at least for the moment) defeated the corporate entity that owns Washington’s NFL team would like to see the same type of case brought against the Chiefs. As she says, the spark that started back in 2005 at Arrowhead has created a fire that will probably soon return. “What happens there, it’s just insane the things they allow to go on,” Blackhorse says of the Chiefs and Arrowhead. “They are definitely in the group (of offensive teams), for sure.” For now, the Chiefs are publicly silent on this. But they know the fight is likely coming, and they hope a few things work in their favor — most notably that it’s tough to compare their nickname with the one in Washington that is a dictionary-defined racial slur. Blackhorse’s group has also protested baseball’s Cleveland Indians, and that team has greatly scaled back its use of the cartoonish Chief Wahoo logo. The Chiefs have similarly scaled back some of their more obvious plays on Indian stereotypes, and they hope they have some other advantages when the fight comes. The team is named after H. Roe Bartle, the mayor who was key in Kansas City landing the team from Dallas in 1962. Bartle’s nickname was “The Chief.” The team stopped using a man dressed in traditional headgear as a mascot during pregame festivities many years ago. In the early 1990s, many of the Chiefs’ defensive players posed for a poster that today both looks absolutely ridiculous and would never be recreated. The team does, however, play the tomahawk chop during games and welcomes fans in headgear and other stereotypes of Native American dress. Those are some of the parts of the game day experience that Blackhorse calls “insane,” and why she expects a fight that’s gaining momentum and support nationally to come to Kansas City. She knows that the vast majority of Chiefs fans will oppose her, but she also knows that the vast majority of fans in Washington opposed her, as well. She says there is “no middle ground with this issue,” that once an ethnic group is used as a nickname for a sports team, the people in that ethic group lose control of their identity and humanity. “I don’t want people to think I’m going around pointing fingers, like, ‘You’re a racist, you’re a racist, you’re a racist,’ ” she says. “That’s not the point. The point is we’re offended. You can love Native Americans to death. You can have admiration, love what we do, how we are, whatever, and still (hijack) our culture without understanding it that way.” Wherever you stand on this issue, there is no denying that Blackhorse’s side is making progress. Teams are sensitive to and aware of perpetuating stereotypes so much more than in the past, in response to public sentiment. The issue is further complicated by context, that this is a fight centered around Indians, who make up about 1 percent of the nation’s population and who, in Blackhorse’s words, “are invisible sometimes to people.” That makes getting the message out a bit more difficult. A group of people that feels offended by widespread stereotyping isn’t big enough to get critical mass on its own. That’s why Blackhorse says the movement needs the help of non-Indians, and part of why she’s so encouraged by developments in Congress and with the trademark case. There is a lot of momentum here, which can be dangerous for teams like the Chiefs that will likely soon find themselves directly in the fight. “I’m not sure there’s anything the (Chiefs) can do at this point other than look for another name,” Blackhorse says. “They could be the team that says, ‘You know what? We understand the issue and we don’t want to be Dan Snyder and fight this in court forever. We want to do the right thing and move forward and avoid this entire battle.’ I’m sure fans will be upset, but still, that’s doing the right thing. “If they want to be sensitive to Native American people, that’s the thing to do.” Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt...#storylink=cpy Early 90's
Posts: 79,292

06-26-2014, 01:12 PM	#196
ToxSocks Needs more middle fingers Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: San Diego Casino cash: $3924563	This bitch needs to smoke some peyote and chill the ****. __________________ Life is like a dick. Sometimes it gets hard for no reason, but it can't stay hard forever.
Posts: 64,688

06-26-2014, 01:19 PM	#199
TLO Life is changing.. Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: NW Missouri Casino cash: $1424900	Blow it out your ass bitch.
Posts: 39,248

06-26-2014, 01:26 PM	#202
JoeyChuckles Bring It Home Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: North Haverbrook Casino cash: $10007012	If we had to change the name, I'd take the Monarchs in a second. I wouldn't even be mad.
Posts: 4,322

06-26-2014, 01:34 PM	#204
ThaVirus You gotta kill a few people Join Date: Sep 2007 Casino cash: $1592369	Native does have a point. Any time these types of threads come around we see just how "diverse" CP actually is. Apparently, about 85% of you are 1/4 Blackfoot. It's just so comical when you guys step in here with your tirade "I'm 1/16th Cherokee and I'm not offended so why could anyone else possibly be!?!" You're not Native American, bitch, you're ****ing white as shit. Sit your ass down somewhere.
Posts: 44,603

06-26-2014, 01:36 PM	#205
ToxSocks Needs more middle fingers Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: San Diego Casino cash: $3924563	If i were pure white bread, i'd be looking into suing the Yankee and Cowboys. "Cowboys are not Mascots" Yankee is an offensive slur towards white people. Texas residents should sue the Texans. "Texans aren't mascots, we're people". Pirates should sue the raiders and buccs. Gays should sue the Packers. heh. __________________ Life is like a dick. Sometimes it gets hard for no reason, but it can't stay hard forever.
Posts: 64,688

06-26-2014, 01:43 PM	#210
Garcia Bronco No Keys, No Problem Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Denver Casino cash: $4893136	like I said...Chief is not a native american word. It's a french one...so tell'em to **** off.
Posts: 30,990