I checked the recent list and saw nothing on this topic, so I thought I'd throw this up. This is one of those issues that, I'm confident, will become more of an open-and-shut case as it continues to get broader exposure.
In an interview with the AP conducted Friday evening, Obama weighed in on the name of the NFL football team that plays in DC. It's a pretty big scoop in the sporting world. The link I'm providing appears on the front page of ESPN.com.
Full story from the Associated Press, posted at ESPN.com
"I don't know whether our attachment to a particular name should override the real legitimate concerns that people have about these things," he said in the interview, which was conducted Friday at the White House.
An avid sports fan who roots for his hometown Chicago Bears, Obama said he doesn't think Washington football fans are purposely trying to offend American Indians.
"I don't want to detract from the wonderful Redskins fans that are here. They love their team and rightly so," he said.
There are names and resources at the link, including an "Outside the Lines" video in the playlist that covers the issue in more detail.
Here is a video of the AP interview:
I'll cut short my response and analysis, simply stating that I believe wholeheartedly that names, symbols, and imagery such as "Redskins" have no place in our modern culture, and feel confident that they will (continue to be) phased out in due time. (this coming from a diehard Cleveland Indians fan!)
Couple shameless plugs:
Paul Lukas has been a strong opponent of the use of Native American names and symbols in sports and other cultural fields. He writes for ESPN and has his own blog, Uni-watch.com. You can use the search bar to dig through his many commentaries on this issue throughout the years. Heck, you won't even need to search...he's been offering near-daily commentary for a while now.
Julie Pace conducted the interview for the AP. She's a childhood friend. Good people.
Deadspin, a part of Gawker media, has also been on the case. (Hat tip to a2nite for reminding me). Here's a blog post about some pretty disgusting behavior at my beloved Indians playoff game earlier in the week: "Indians Fans Wear Redface"The comment section is encouraging, informative, provocative, and as with most deadspin articles, amusing.
7:03 PM PT: Updated title of diary to remove slur and tease PBO's sentiments