Chiefs Woman behind the Redskins name change says the Chiefs should be on guard - Page 22

**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

**notorious** · 06-26-2014, 05:09 PM

The "Home of the Chiefs" thing needs to die in an AIDS fire. It's really disrespectful towards our national anthem.

SPATCH · 06-26-2014, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by notorious

The "Home of the Chiefs" thing needs to die in an AIDS fire. It's really disrespectful towards our national anthem.

Hope this is sarcasm.

**notorious** · 06-26-2014, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SPATCH

Hope this is sarcasm.

Nope.

SPATCH · 06-26-2014, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by notorious

Nope.

Lighten up.

Chief Roundup · 06-26-2014, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by notorious

The "Home of the Chiefs" thing needs to die in an AIDS fire. It's really disrespectful towards our national anthem.

I don't know how many other teams do that but I have heard several other teams fans do the exact same thing with their teams name.

Kidd Lex · 06-26-2014, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guru

No kidding. that thing was embarrassing. I would love to kill the tomahawk chop and the stupid war drum crap in pre game. AS far as the fans that dress up as indians, there isn't much that can be done about that.

What bothers you about those things?

Truly amazes me how sensitive people are.

Eleazar · 06-26-2014, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by notorious

The "Home of the Chiefs" thing needs to die in an AIDS fire. It's really disrespectful towards our national anthem.

The national anthem is just an old song. Singing that old song "right" doesn't make you any more or less American.

It's an even more meaningless thing to emote about than the team name or the arrowheads

MTG#10 · 06-26-2014, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The God Hypothesis

What bothers you about those things?

Truly amazes me how sensitive people are.

Most Natives I know dont give a shit about any of it, not even the Redskins. I only know two but that's a pretty good sample of their entire population.

Discuss Thrower · 06-26-2014, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cochise

The national anthem is just an old song. Singing that old song "right" doesn't make you any more or less American.

It's an even more meaningless thing to emote about than the team name or the arrowheads

It wasn't even official until the great depression, it's hard to sing, and is to the tune of a ****ing drinking song.

But by all means, let's deify the **** out of it.

**notorious** · 06-26-2014, 05:20 PM

[img][/img]

R8RFAN · 06-26-2014, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MTG#10

Most Natives I know dont give a shit about any of it, not even the Redskins. I only know two but that's a pretty good sample of their entire population.

It only takes 1 nowadays

Carlota69 · 06-26-2014, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3rd&48ers

It's not partisan... Who called for the vote on the issue and how many Republicans voted for it?

I am not a Republican, I am a Conservative.. I hate Check Pant Republicans just about as much as Libs

Oh and because I said "I'm pretty liberal" means I only vote for Dems? So are you the only person in the whole wide world that doesn't just check a box with a R or D next to it???

You have no idea who I voted for. I have my own mind, and I vote for who I feel is best for the job, and usually there is no one best for the job running, IMHO. And when I go to the polls, I don't worry about small things like football team names. I don't politicize this shit, or put it in a R box or D box, but unfortunately people do. Like you obviously.

R8RFAN · 06-26-2014, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carlota69

Oh and because I said "I'm pretty liberal" means I only vote for Dems? So are you the only person in the whole wide world that doesn't just check a box with a R or D next to it???

You have no idea who I voted for. I have my own mind, and I vote for who I feel is best for the job, and usually there is no one best for the job running, IMHO. And when I go to the polls, I don't worry about small things like football team names. I don't politicize this shit, or put it in a R box or D box, but unfortunately people do. Like you obviously.

I have been reading you for many years.. Ray Charles could see how you vote...

It's a political issue, you just need to turn off American Idol long enough to dig deeper and quit reading the headlines.

**007** · 06-26-2014, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The God Hypothesis

What bothers you about those things?

Truly amazes me how sensitive people are.

It don't even care to be honest. I just think they are stupid. Oh look, I'm a local celeb, I'll beat that drum for you. Now pay me.

I've always felt the tomahawk chant was copied from Florida St. We don't need to copy other teams shit.

The one thing that truly annoys the **** out of me though is the "thats another Kansas City Chiefs FIRST DOWN" That was fun in the Trent green years. It's old and played out now.

Pepe Silvia · 06-26-2014, 05:26 PM

Soon football players will be required to show camel toe.

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, 05:09 PM	#316
notorious Supporter Join Date: May 2005 Location: Who knows? Casino cash: $2435884	The "Home of the Chiefs" thing needs to die in an AIDS fire. It's really disrespectful towards our national anthem.
Posts: 83,718

06-26-2014, 05:20 PM	#325
notorious Supporter Join Date: May 2005 Location: Who knows? Casino cash: $2435884	[img][/img]
Posts: 83,718

06-26-2014, 05:26 PM	#330
Pepe Silvia MVP Join Date: Oct 2012 Casino cash: $1444664	Soon football players will be required to show camel toe.
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