The logo for the Change the Mascot campaign
The Fritz Pollard Alliance is calling on the Washington NFL team to get rid of its racist mascot. The group, which promotes diversity and equality in employment within the NFL, tried to get team representatives to meet with tribal and Indian leaders who oppose the mascot. A testy meeting last fall that included Gary Edwards, a Cherokee man who runs the Original Americans Foundation, proved to be the last straw. “Every time we tried to speak, this guy Gary Edwards exploded,” attorney Cyrus Mehri told The Washington Post. “It was really hostile. And it was jarring, because it was so out of place.” Former linebacker Harry Carson, the executive director of the group, said he brought up the issue one more time in December with the team's president. He said the team didn't appear concerned so the group decided to go public with their request on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Get the Story:
Civil rights group closely allied with the NFL calls for the Redskins to change its name (The Washington Post 1/19)
Join the Conversation
Related Stories
DOJ backs Native activists
in battle over racist NFL trademarks (01/09)Opinion: A solution for the Washington NFL team's racist mascot (12/22)
Column: Owner is the real 'obstacle' with Washington NFL team (12/15)
Cherokee Nation upset by link to Washington team's foundation (12/02)
Judge allows NFL team lawsuit against young Native activists (11/26)
Survey shows most Americans wouldn't use R-word in person (11/20)
Mascot fight reaches back generations at Little Earth complex (11/14)
Suzan Shown Harjo to receive Presidential Medal of Freedom (11/11)
Kevin Leecy: The truth about our history will set Americans free (11/03)
Minnesota Tribes: United in campaign against racist NFL mascot (11/03)
Kevin Gover: Mascot fight exposes myths about Native people (10/30)
Erma Vizenor: Join tribes for protest at NFL game in Minnesota (10/28)
Gregg Deal: People don't want the truth about being indigenous (10/27)
