As the debate over whether or not it’s appropriate to wave Confederate flag continues to rage in various parts of the country, a bevy of sports fans and Native American advocates are claiming deja vu, arguing that opposition to the rebel banner is directly connected to the push to change the team name of the Washington “Redskins” football team.
Over the past few weeks, several commentators have noted the similarities between resistance to the Confederate flag, which generally symbolizes the oppression of African Americans and the institution of slavery, and distaste for the “Redskins” name and logo, which many see as an implicit glorification of colonizers who conquered and enslaved Native Americans before American governments quartered them off onto reservations. The Nation published a piece linking the two debates, the Washington Post posted an online quiz highlighting how defenders of the flag and defenders of the “Redskins” name use comparable arguments, and VICE’s Ty Schalter minced few words in his scathing critique of both the Confederate banner and the football team logo.
“If you’re a NFL fan who isn’t cool with state capitols proudly hoisting a banner synonymous with slavery, segregation, lynchings and hate, you shouldn’t be cool with Washington’s racist nickname. No matter how much you love the team,” he wrote.
Native Americans also noticed the resemblance between the flag controversy and the debate over the “Redskins” name, with Tara Houska, a tribal rights attorney, writing, “Proud tradition does not negate the racism of a flag associated with the enslavement of a people, nor does it negate the racism of a moniker that dehumanizes and slurs a people who underwent attempted eradication.”
The #ConfederateFlag is a #racist symbol. So is the #Redskins. #ChangeTheName #Equality: http://t.co/n9KAjE8KCX pic.twitter.com/PCO0UiPBbW
— tara houska (@zhaabowekwe) June 24, 2015
But the connection between the Confederate flag debate and the Washington football team’s name and logo isn’t just ideological — it’s legal. Two weeks ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Walker v. Sons of Confederate Veterans, deciding that, yes, the state of Texas does have the right to prohibit putting the Confederate battle flag on license plates if it deems the symbol “offensive.” This case doesn’t mention the Washington “Redskins”, of course, but — as Keith Olbermann recently pointed out on his show — it directly impacts a trademark lawsuit between the team and five Native Americans: Last year, the football giant sued the individuals after the government canceled six Redskins trademarks, with the team’s lawyers claiming that the Native Americans had no right to sue because “Redskins” is supposedly not an offensive name. The case is still ongoing, so when the Walker court decision came down, U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee, who is overseeing the trademark suit, asked both legal teams to reevaluate their case in light of the ruling.
Naturally, lawyers representing the Native Americans said the ruling bolstered their case, noting that since the state of Texas clearly did not violate the Sons of Confederate Veteran’s First Amendment right to free speech simply by rejecting the offensive flag license plate, the government also did not violate the “Redskins’” rights when it rejected a federal trademark for an offensive name.
Yet the “Redskins’” lawyers, interestingly, did not argue that the name and logo isn’t offensive, which team owner Dan Snyder has claimed in the past. Instead, they insisted that the name constituted “pure private speech,” with Robert Raskopf, the lead attorney for the “Redskins,” adding that “A Coke can is not a license plate.”
Granted, it remains to be seen whether the Supreme Court decision will dictate the outcome of the “Redskins” suit, and flying an offensive flag on federal property is different from the logo of a private business. Nevertheless, the link between the Confederate flag controversy and the football team logo looks like it might stick, and it comes as opposition to the “Redskins” name appears to be resurgent: On Monday, an entire Christian denomination — the United Church of Christ — voted to boycott the team as a group, saying the name and symbol is “offensive and causes direct harmful effects to the public health and well-being of the Native American population.”
Update:
This post previously characterized the ongoing lawsuit as a dispute between the “Redskins” and five tribes. The suit is actually between the team and five Native American individuals.