Kinda wished you asked him about his feelings about the name Redskins. Noticed throughout the interview you kept saying "indigenous" and he kept saying "Indians"
"Redskins" is a racial slur. Put it this way: Would you, as a non-Indian, walk into a bar crowded with Indians and yell, "Hello, all you redskins!" Or would you greet a group of fourth grade Indians by saying, "Well, hello, all you little redskins."
I assumed you were glad they got rid of Chief Wahoo. But that happened 3 years before the name change. They initially said they would not change the name and then changed their mind after George Floyd.
(I think I understand one argument for changing the name to be: whether something is respectful, disparaging, or neutral is besides the point.
Perhaps another argument is that "Indians" is something Native Americans are allowed to say and the rest of us not?)
Thanks for your thoughts and for going on the Pod - was interesting and enjoyable.
I was hoping for this too. I grew up in northern Virginia and i'm a Washington fan. This has been frequently discussed in the local sports media and there is plenty of nuance that's not covered at the national level. Multiple polls from the Washington Post that just kept showing pesky results (majority "not offended" / "prefer the name"), stories of Redskins apparel being some of the most popular NFL gear on reservations, a majority Native American high school recently refusing to change their name from Redskins to something else despite heavy pressure, etc.
One of our local radio hosts (Kevin Sheehan) put it perfectly on a recent podcast. Something along the lines of "If most Native Americans felt that the name was hurtful and offensive, I'd be the first person to suggest lets change it and move on. But I haven't seen convincing evidence that that is the case"
Those highly unscientific polls include people who self-identify as Indian, meaning there are a whole lot of Elizabeth Warren faux Indians in the mix. A UC Davis study conducted by Indians interviewing actual Indians showed that a vast majority of us are opposed to Native mascots.
Also, that school that voted to keep Redskins as their mascot is on my reservation, my tribe, where I grew up! But even on the rez, it's a slim majority that voted to keep the mascot.
Was hoping to hear more about the number of reservation players who were easily D1 star level but never made it - but Ethan turned the conversation elsewhere when Sherman brought that up. Oh well.
This was such a terrific conversation, thanks to both Ethan and Sherman. That said, as a fan who lived and breathed everything Seattle SuperSonics, the tease of that discussion and not coming back to it was rough! Talking about Stockton’s sneaky genius (& strength) reminded me that Gary Payton asked him to speak at his HOF induction.
I really enjoyed this episode. Sherman was very thoughtful and it was cool to hear Ethan genuinely laugh out loud a few times.
I had a great time.
Kinda wished you asked him about his feelings about the name Redskins. Noticed throughout the interview you kept saying "indigenous" and he kept saying "Indians"
"Redskins" is a racial slur. Put it this way: Would you, as a non-Indian, walk into a bar crowded with Indians and yell, "Hello, all you redskins!" Or would you greet a group of fourth grade Indians by saying, "Well, hello, all you little redskins."
Were you glad the Indians changed their name to the Guardians?
Yes. Chief Wahoo, their mascot, is a racist caricature.
I assumed you were glad they got rid of Chief Wahoo. But that happened 3 years before the name change. They initially said they would not change the name and then changed their mind after George Floyd.
(I think I understand one argument for changing the name to be: whether something is respectful, disparaging, or neutral is besides the point.
Perhaps another argument is that "Indians" is something Native Americans are allowed to say and the rest of us not?)
Thanks for your thoughts and for going on the Pod - was interesting and enjoyable.
We call ourselves Indians. Anybody who knows Indians calls us Indians. It's only a certain subset of white liberals who are afraid of the word.
Thanks for responding, sir. Enjoyed the interview.
I was hoping for this too. I grew up in northern Virginia and i'm a Washington fan. This has been frequently discussed in the local sports media and there is plenty of nuance that's not covered at the national level. Multiple polls from the Washington Post that just kept showing pesky results (majority "not offended" / "prefer the name"), stories of Redskins apparel being some of the most popular NFL gear on reservations, a majority Native American high school recently refusing to change their name from Redskins to something else despite heavy pressure, etc.
One of our local radio hosts (Kevin Sheehan) put it perfectly on a recent podcast. Something along the lines of "If most Native Americans felt that the name was hurtful and offensive, I'd be the first person to suggest lets change it and move on. But I haven't seen convincing evidence that that is the case"
Those highly unscientific polls include people who self-identify as Indian, meaning there are a whole lot of Elizabeth Warren faux Indians in the mix. A UC Davis study conducted by Indians interviewing actual Indians showed that a vast majority of us are opposed to Native mascots.
Also, that school that voted to keep Redskins as their mascot is on my reservation, my tribe, where I grew up! But even on the rez, it's a slim majority that voted to keep the mascot.
Loved this pod. Found it interesting and informative.
Thanks, Chris.
Was hoping to hear more about the number of reservation players who were easily D1 star level but never made it - but Ethan turned the conversation elsewhere when Sherman brought that up. Oh well.
This was such a terrific conversation, thanks to both Ethan and Sherman. That said, as a fan who lived and breathed everything Seattle SuperSonics, the tease of that discussion and not coming back to it was rough! Talking about Stockton’s sneaky genius (& strength) reminded me that Gary Payton asked him to speak at his HOF induction.
Just finishing this now. This has been one of my favourite podcasts Ethan has put out. Great conversation.