Chiefs Woman behind the Redskins name change says the Chiefs should be on guard - Page 39

**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

Fairplay · 06-27-2014, 03:18 PM

I think we will have to change the name eventually that is what this country is turning into like it or not.

Let's start thinking of a new name for this team, everyone throw out some names and maybe we could start a poll to submit to Clark Hunt.

**loochy** · 06-27-2014, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SPATCH

I don't follow...

crumbling to their behavior encourages more of said behavior

**BigMeatballDave** · 06-27-2014, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcellus

I think its cheesy and has way jumped the shark but WTF would it embarrass you? That's weird as shit.

It's hokey.

Played out, like The Wave.

SkipperSeamen · 06-27-2014, 03:24 PM

It's sad to see so many "so called fans" selling out 45+ years of foot ball culture and tradition because you're afraid of not being politically correct in a country where we are thought to have the freedom of expression.

I wouldn't consider ChiefsPlanet a true fan site anyway since it's mainly just grown men who can't leave a site or not act like total douches that are above everyone else because they garnered over 10,000+ virtual internet posts that probably fill an empty void.

Thanks for having me.

SPATCH · 06-27-2014, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SkipperSeamen

It's sad to see so many "so called fans" selling out 45+ years of foot ball culture and tradition because you're afraid of not being politically correct in a country where we are thought to have the freedom of expression.

I wouldn't consider ChiefsPlanet a true fan site anyway since it's mainly just grown men who can't leave a site or not act like total douches that are above everyone else because they garnered over 10,000+ virtual internet posts that probably fill an empty void.

Thanks for having me.

Thanks, now **** off forever.

Discuss Thrower · 06-27-2014, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Isupportthename

As I said above, I'm going on the premise that if the league could dictate this type of thing to teams, they would have changed the Redskins' (and maybe even the Chiefs') name a long time ago. Not because it's racist, but because they don't want anything remotely close to controversy. So my personal belief is that they can't just tell a franchise what to do in matters such as these. Another example is Al Davis; had the league been able to do what the NBA did with Sterling, I think they would have forced Davis out a long time ago (like when he sued the NFL).

From my limited review of NFL bylaws current to 2006, the executive committee of the NFL can impose whatever action it wants with an affirmative vote of 20+ members.

mikey23545 · 06-27-2014, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SPATCH

I don't follow...

Are you really this ****ing stupid?

Hell, Fish is always telling us how uber-intelligent liberals are...are you an extreme outlier of some sort?

SPATCH · 06-27-2014, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by loochy

crumbling to their behavior encourages more of said behavior

Actually, it leaves the Native American legal team without a leg to stand on if they are thinking about a lawsuit.

The team doesn't participate in any behavior that lampoons Native American culture, and the homages to Native American culture contained within the name/logo are done in good taste and are not disparaging.

Lawsuit probably wouldn't even happen. Bud nipped. Controversy avoided.

SPATCH · 06-27-2014, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikey23545

Are you really this ****ing stupid?

Hell, Fish is always telling us how uber-intelligent liberals are...are you an extreme outlier of some sort?

Damn, dawg. Chill.

lcarus · 06-27-2014, 03:42 PM

"After a brutal choke job in their recent playoff game against the Indianapolis Colts, the Chiefs have since lost 7 good players as unrestricted free agents and also their team name."

htismaqe · 06-27-2014, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SkipperSeamen

It's sad to see so many "so called fans" selling out 45+ years of foot ball culture and tradition because you're afraid of not being politically correct in a country where we are thought to have the freedom of expression.

I wouldn't consider ChiefsPlanet a true fan site anyway since it's mainly just grown men who can't leave a site or not act like total douches that are above everyone else because they garnered over 10,000+ virtual internet posts that probably fill an empty void.

Thanks for having me.

DEB's husband everyone.

duncan_idaho · 06-27-2014, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SPATCH

Actually, it leaves the Native American legal team without a leg to stand on if they are thinking about a lawsuit.

The team doesn't participate in any behavior that lampoons Native American culture, and the homages to Native American culture contained within the name/logo are done in good taste and are not disparaging.

Lawsuit probably wouldn't even happen. Controversy avoided.

This is exactly it. It's about taking a few small and relatively insignificant steps that would improve your legal standing and public perception.

Personally, I don't think anything the Chiefs do or support is offensive or hateful or lampoons Native Americans in anyway.

But taking a few proactive steps would really reduce any complaints about what the Chiefs do to "It's Chiefs, and their stadium is ARROWHEAD" and "SOME OF THEIR FANS DO THINGS THAT OFFEND ME!"

The second thing, the team can't control (as long as it is not letting fans break the law). On the first item, a few simple acts (stop playing the Tomahawk chop song, the whole thing is outdated anyway, discourage NA garb in the stadium/ask camera operators not to show people dressed that way in camera shots, sending Warpaint back to the glue factory) that wouldn't really have any deep or long-lasting impact take care of things.

Fish · 06-27-2014, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikey23545

Are you really this ****ing stupid?

Hell, Fish is always telling us how uber-intelligent liberals are...are you an extreme outlier of some sort?

Quit smoking so much crack, crackhead.

**LoneWolf** · 06-27-2014, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Discuss Thrower

The (Fire) Chiefs?

The (Police) Chiefs?

The (Master) Chiefs?

All stupid.. and the name still still evokes the link to Natives.

The word Chiefs is not a Native American word and even when being used to describe a Native American it isn't derogatory. Arrowheads aren't exclusive to Native Americans.

I don't understand why you are being so obtuse about this subject.

Crying Ramtard · 06-27-2014, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

This is exactly it. It's about taking a few small and relatively insignificant steps that would improve your legal standing and public perception.

Personally, I don't think anything the Chiefs do or support is offensive or hateful or lampoons Native Americans in anyway.

But taking a few proactive steps would really reduce any complaints about what the Chiefs do to "It's Chiefs, and their stadium is ARROWHEAD" and "SOME OF THEIR FANS DO THINGS THAT OFFEND ME!"

The second thing, the team can't control (as long as it is not letting fans break the law). On the first item, a few simple acts (stop playing the Tomahawk chop song, the whole thing is outdated anyway, discourage NA garb in the stadium/ask camera operators not to show people dressed that way in camera shots, sending Warpaint back to the glue factory) that wouldn't really have any deep or long-lasting impact take care of things.

no, you are talking about quitting
and giving into fools. You aren't a winner .Go away to your island of quitters and losers

06-25-2014, 11:01 PM
BigRedChief Has a particular set of skills Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: On the water Casino cash: $3179627 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: 78,971

06-27-2014, 03:18 PM	#571
Fairplay A certain set of skills Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: texas Casino cash: $10026683 VARSITY	I think we will have to change the name eventually that is what this country is turning into like it or not. Let's start thinking of a new name for this team, everyone throw out some names and maybe we could start a poll to submit to Clark Hunt.
Posts: 25,265

06-27-2014, 03:24 PM	#574
SkipperSeamen Banned Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: SpicInfestedKansasCity Casino cash: $10004900	It's sad to see so many "so called fans" selling out 45+ years of foot ball culture and tradition because you're afraid of not being politically correct in a country where we are thought to have the freedom of expression. I wouldn't consider ChiefsPlanet a true fan site anyway since it's mainly just grown men who can't leave a site or not act like total douches that are above everyone else because they garnered over 10,000+ virtual internet posts that probably fill an empty void. Thanks for having me.
Posts: 5

06-27-2014, 03:42 PM	#580
lcarus Everybody Lies. Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: 22 Acacia Avenue Casino cash: $1899928	"After a brutal choke job in their recent playoff game against the Indianapolis Colts, the Chiefs have since lost 7 good players as unrestricted free agents and also their team name."
Posts: 17,334