Chiefs Woman behind the Redskins name change says the Chiefs should be on guard - Page 28

**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

Discuss Thrower · 06-27-2014, 12:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guru

Kansas City Chiefs with camouflage for their uniforms. Would that offend the military?

Sure, if being in the military was determined by genetic ancestry.

ClevelandBronco · 06-27-2014, 12:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Discuss Thrower

I think the name change is inevitable. It might be 10 years, or 20, or possibly five.

But it'll happen soon after the Redskins are forced to change.

**** the wolfpack idea.. or Red Wolves.

KC should steal a name from football history and go with the Dons.

Italian problems.

Discuss Thrower · 06-27-2014, 12:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClevelandBronco

Italian problems.

It's no problem for the University of San Francisco.

Just be something more original than "Wolfpack" for Christ's sake.

**007** · 06-27-2014, 12:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Discuss Thrower

Sure, if being in the military was determined by genetic ancestry.

I think we would become one of the countries favorite teams if we did that.

Discuss Thrower · 06-27-2014, 12:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guru

I think we would become one of the countries favorite teams if we did that.

Being a Chief is more of a Navy thing.. so it'd be that confusing dark blue camo they have for whatever reason.

I'll pass.

Otter · 06-27-2014, 01:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Discuss Thrower

Q'ing myself, but

Chiefs + Arrowhead logo and stadium + de facto official team chant that involves tomahawk chopping + red and yellow color + mascot called "Warpaint" = imagery consistent with stereotypical depictions of Native Americans. That has been construed as offensive by some.. Namely, Native Americans.

Rename Arrowhead, turn away fans wearing headdresses, change the name of the horse and actively depict a "Chief" as a police, fire or military leader and there isn't a problem.

How much of those measures the Hunt family is willing to take remains to be seen.

Also, consider who actually owns Arrowhead...

Nah, let's not. Some of like to hear you whine.

**007** · 06-27-2014, 01:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Discuss Thrower

Being a Chief is more of a Navy thing.. so it'd be that confusing dark blue camo they have for whatever reason.

I'll pass.

Chief of Army Staff Army
Master Chief Navy
Chief Master Sergeant Air Force

I think it covers it all pretty much.

EDIT

Who am I kidding. There would probably be a bunch of people bitching because we are denigrating the armed forces of our country in some way.

**LoneWolf** · 06-27-2014, 03:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Discuss Thrower

Q'ing myself, but

Chiefs + Arrowhead logo and stadium + de facto official team chant that involves tomahawk chopping + red and yellow color + mascot called "Warpaint" = imagery consistent with stereotypical depictions of Native Americans. That has been construed as offensive by some.. Namely, Native Americans.

Rename Arrowhead, turn away fans wearing headdresses, change the name of the horse and actively depict a "Chief" as a police, fire or military leader and there isn't a problem.

How much of those measures the Hunt family is willing to take remains to be seen.

Also, consider who actually owns Arrowhead...

I understand how te tomahawk chop and Warpaint can be seen as offensive and I think the Chiefs would be smart to stop the practice of using them. I fail to see how the Arrowhead logo or the colors red and yellow could be seen as offensive to Native Americans.

**New World Order** · 06-27-2014, 04:22 AM

Haven't these people ever watched The Last of The Mohicans?

Gravedigger · 06-27-2014, 04:36 AM

Indians don't own the word Chief. Rename warpaint, take the waves out of the arrowhead logo and make it a straight arrowhead and you're good. They tried to take away the tomahawk chop, fans will do it without the music, well still say Home of the Chiefs, in this entire bullshit propaganda wagon you can't really dictate fan behavior, and that's where our tradition wins over the minority of the minority's sensitivity.

R8RFAN · 06-27-2014, 04:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoneWolf

I understand how te tomahawk chop and Warpaint can be seen as offensive and I think the Chiefs would be smart to stop the practice of using them. I fail to see how the Arrowhead logo or the colors red and yellow could be seen as offensive to Native Americans.

The mustard yellow color could be offensive as you are implying they are cowards and the Ketchup red color could be offensive meaning they are out for blood and violent...

Both of them together is bad too because it could mean you are trying to copy

Bootlegged · 06-27-2014, 05:28 AM

She's a KU grad in her late 20's or 30. Someone should go top shelf on her while doing the chop and then ATM. Publicity whore.

Jerm · 06-27-2014, 06:47 AM

"Arrowhead Stadium" is now considered offensive????

Holy shit....

Isupportthename · 06-27-2014, 06:57 AM

Hello all, I'm a Redskins fan in the DC area and have been so my entire life. Admittedly I haven't read through this entire thread, but I've read some of it. I heard about this story this morning, and I just wanted to come here and voice my support for the Kansas City Chiefs and their fans. First off, I respect the teams you all have had in the past, and your tradition in the NFL. But that aside, I'm shocked and appalled - but not really surprised in truth - that they would take it to this level. And it's sickening.

I obviously support the Redskins never relinquishing the name, and I'm also on record as saying that I wouldn't support the franchise any longer if they did. I consider myself a fair-minded person, but the fact that we have to walk on eggshells around certain people doesn't sit right with me. As an Italian-American should I be offended everytime I see an obese guy with facial hair on a pizza box? Many people will say "that's different;" is it really? (For the record, that's not offensive to me but I am trying to prove a point.)

But it's interesting to me that these people are only going after the Redskins and now the Chiefs - NFL teams. It's commonly known that the NFL prints money. Granted there have been some issues with the Indians in the past, but never to this extent. So I'm to believe that REDSKINS and CHIEFS are racist, while INDIANS, BRAVES, SEMINOLES, WARRIORS, et al are a-okay. So reading between the lines, that tells me that they don't want people getting rich off of Native American traditions or anything of the like. (And for the record, could we not all have an issue with the term NATIVE AMERICAN? I get it that they were here first and all, but any of us who were born in the USA are Native Americans.)

All of that aside, it's just sad. If we're not careful so many things that we hold near and dear in America are going to be stripped away. Because there's not one thing out there that's not offensive to someone. What's next, we're going to have to change the name of the Potomac River since there's an Indian reference? This sounds rantish I suppose, but we find ourselves in a time where it's the minority voices who are suppressing those of the majority. And they're allowed to do it because they're holding the "racism card" over the majority of the people. If you speak out against it, you must be a racist. It's sickening. That aside, from a Redskins fan - I want the people of Kansas City and all of the Chiefs fans to know that we're all on your side and we stand behind you.

On a side note, I'd love to see our teams play perhaps a preseason game next year to stand in solidarity with one another.

**Predarat** · 06-27-2014, 07:04 AM

They could rename the team the Red Royals, or tell that damn women to stick a big ole Arrowhead up both of her holes. though she would not feel at least one of them. Now I hope they lose the Redskins deal and that name stays.

06-25-2014, 11:01 PM
BigRedChief Has a particular set of skills Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: On the water Casino cash: $3059627 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: 79,076

06-27-2014, 04:22 AM	#414
New World Order Choco Favre Join Date: Jul 2012 Casino cash: $2594765	Haven't these people ever watched The Last of The Mohicans?
Posts: 29,044

06-27-2014, 04:36 AM	#415
Gravedigger Plays to win the game! Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Lees Summit Casino cash: $7273101	Indians don't own the word Chief. Rename warpaint, take the waves out of the arrowhead logo and make it a straight arrowhead and you're good. They tried to take away the tomahawk chop, fans will do it without the music, well still say Home of the Chiefs, in this entire bullshit propaganda wagon you can't really dictate fan behavior, and that's where our tradition wins over the minority of the minority's sensitivity.
Posts: 7,566

06-27-2014, 05:28 AM	#417
Bootlegged One4Mahomes Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: f Casino cash: $9985545	She's a KU grad in her late 20's or 30. Someone should go top shelf on her while doing the chop and then ATM. Publicity whore.
Posts: 5,232

06-27-2014, 06:47 AM	#418
Jerm Mahomes > God Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Clinton, MO Casino cash: $5778996	"Arrowhead Stadium" is now considered offensive???? Holy shit....
Posts: 9,824

06-27-2014, 06:57 AM	#419
Isupportthename Rookie Join Date: Jun 2014 Casino cash: $10004900	Hello all, I'm a Redskins fan in the DC area and have been so my entire life. Admittedly I haven't read through this entire thread, but I've read some of it. I heard about this story this morning, and I just wanted to come here and voice my support for the Kansas City Chiefs and their fans. First off, I respect the teams you all have had in the past, and your tradition in the NFL. But that aside, I'm shocked and appalled - but not really surprised in truth - that they would take it to this level. And it's sickening. I obviously support the Redskins never relinquishing the name, and I'm also on record as saying that I wouldn't support the franchise any longer if they did. I consider myself a fair-minded person, but the fact that we have to walk on eggshells around certain people doesn't sit right with me. As an Italian-American should I be offended everytime I see an obese guy with facial hair on a pizza box? Many people will say "that's different;" is it really? (For the record, that's not offensive to me but I am trying to prove a point.) But it's interesting to me that these people are only going after the Redskins and now the Chiefs - NFL teams. It's commonly known that the NFL prints money. Granted there have been some issues with the Indians in the past, but never to this extent. So I'm to believe that REDSKINS and CHIEFS are racist, while INDIANS, BRAVES, SEMINOLES, WARRIORS, et al are a-okay. So reading between the lines, that tells me that they don't want people getting rich off of Native American traditions or anything of the like. (And for the record, could we not all have an issue with the term NATIVE AMERICAN? I get it that they were here first and all, but any of us who were born in the USA are Native Americans.) All of that aside, it's just sad. If we're not careful so many things that we hold near and dear in America are going to be stripped away. Because there's not one thing out there that's not offensive to someone. What's next, we're going to have to change the name of the Potomac River since there's an Indian reference? This sounds rantish I suppose, but we find ourselves in a time where it's the minority voices who are suppressing those of the majority. And they're allowed to do it because they're holding the "racism card" over the majority of the people. If you speak out against it, you must be a racist. It's sickening. That aside, from a Redskins fan - I want the people of Kansas City and all of the Chiefs fans to know that we're all on your side and we stand behind you. On a side note, I'd love to see our teams play perhaps a preseason game next year to stand in solidarity with one another.
Posts: 13

06-27-2014, 07:04 AM	#420
Predarat Run Chiefs fans, run!! Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Nashville, TN Casino cash: $9973863	They could rename the team the Red Royals, or tell that damn women to stick a big ole Arrowhead up both of her holes. though she would not feel at least one of them. Now I hope they lose the Redskins deal and that name stays.
Posts: 10,776