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2019-2020 Offseason:
(Late-Arriving)
Latest NFL News And Views Part 1: From RESPECTING RACE To
Saving Face To Shielding In Place To Keeping Pace
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Part 1
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Part 2
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Part 3
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Part 4
July 27, 2020 At
10:13 PM CST
By Eric M. Scharf-
- "Life moves pretty fast. If you
don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it,” said
Ferris Bueller (a most memorable mover). And – for “The Tortured
Cowboys Fan” whose writing (in the past two months) has been
a bit
slow – it has taken a lil’ while for this “performance art” to
get
up and GO.
Respecting Race
"We will never change the name of the team. As a lifelong Redskins
fan, and I think that the Redskins fans understand the great
tradition and what it's all about and what it means, so we feel
pretty fortunate to be just working on next season. We'll never
change the name. It's that simple. NEVER – you can use caps." –
Washington team owner Daniel Snyder (on May 2013 to USA Today,
insisting that opposition groups will never, ever have their way).
The Washington Redskins have officially stripped themselves of their
historic logo and name, as was recently announced. It was a
long-avoided but ultimately inescapable step by a once-proud NFL
franchise to finally begin distancing itself from racist
connotations for which their name had been routinely denounced. With
the potential for a 2020 season fast approaching, a new set of
potential trademark symbols and names Snyder and his brain trust are
urgently broaching.
The unrelated-yet-culture-shattering killing of George Floyd (rather
explosively) renewed calls by (most but not all) fans,
still-determined Native American groups, and key team sponsors to
change the organization’s appearance across the NFL’s
highly-visible, international landscape. While “America’s Team” has
engaged Washington in so many an unforgettably-competitive scrape,
the Dallas Cowboys and their own fans have been equally-complicit
(no matter how seemingly playful or downright hilarious) in
“celebrating” the worst characteristics of historic battles between
Cowboys and Indians (in the same vein as Star Trek’s Federation of
Planets versus the Klingons or DC’s Justice League versus the Legion
of Doom).
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- Fan passion (stoked by opportunistic marketing campaigns tryin’ to
cash in) is no longer a valid excuse for unacceptable culture-bashin’
that is spectacularly crashin’. Now – in the middle of “A Summer Of
Hate” – the District of Columbia (the would-be-state) has been
forcibly-granted some new “person, place, or thing” representation
that has a chance to positively bloom.
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YES, The Tortured Cowboys Fan competitively despised “that
Washington team” and will continue to boo and hiss at the
newly-rebranded District of Columbia squad, but far more for their
destructive, Napoleonic team owner, MY GAWD. During the 2008-2009
recession – even though Dan Snyder insisted there were over 200,000
fans desperately waiting to become proud purchasers of season
tickets – he sued existing season tickets holders who were unable to
pay. And that was not the only time the team’s own fan base he would
brazenly betray.
ONLY when Snyder saw critical team sponsors were prepared to get
decidedly-mean with their contractual green did he finally relent on
removing from his NFL franchise’s branding a racial dent so
long-standing. The investment-isolating behavior did not stop there,
as the team’s top three minority owners (in percentage, not skin
color) have been attempting to sell their respective shares. Nike
stopped selling Washington’s gear and – with Walmart, Target, and
Amazon threatening to do the same – Snyder’s choices quickly
narrowed down to one so undeniable and clear.
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If Snyder was left to his own business-first, bottom-line devices,
of course, he would destructively-shrug at the possibility of sponsor divorce,
keep things exactly as they were (prior to the negative media blur),
and dismiss all empathic advices. Snyder (in his mere two decades as
the voraciously vilified head of that Washington team) is
by-no-means the only NFL owner to privately-think or
publicly-function this way, as the late Jack Kent Cooke routinely
did his part to keep the issue in play.
"There is not a single, solitary jot, tittle, whit chance in the
world [that the Redskins change their nickname]. I like the name,
and it's not a derogatory name." – Jack Kent Cooke in 1988
(knowingly delaying his team’s eventual identity fate). While Snyder
was merely (?) parroting Cooke’s own line, being made an example of
(by a publicly-driven, racial-equality movement) is something about
which he cannot believably whine (when knowingly preventing societal
improvement).
"The argument I’ve heard is “if we change the team name, we lose our
history.” My reply: it’s HUMAN BEINGS who created the memories and
won the games, NOT a LOGO. A change in name will not alter what Art
Monk, Dexter Manley, Darrell Green, Doug Williams, etc. means to the
fans." – Jeannie Busse, owner of the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers on
Twitter on July 2, 2020 (throwing shade at all the power-hording,
change-fearing fakers who “suggest” the absence of a racist name and
emblem will wipe away decades of largely-winning NFC East and NFL
history).
“But, BUT” what lurks beneath the (laughable) anxiety of seeing
Washington’s logo and moniker removed from sight is the real, TRUE
fan fright. Much like a human being who contracts COVID-19,
recovers, and then is – perhaps – viewed differently (than just a
grateful and lucky survivor), Washington fans want to be able to
cheer for their newly-cleansed (?) team with the unrealistic promise
of never being denigrated or drawing any “You’re a racist!” ire.
While completely understandable, that dreaded experience (especially
for those so proudly deplorable who have routinely maintained “the
Redskins name ain’t THAT horrible!”) may – for the first few years
(?) and hundreds (?) of cringe-worthy jeers – be absolutely
unavoidable. Though there is always room for healthy, objective
debate, nothing good comes from willful attempts to conflate.
Nothing Canned About The New Brand
“WHY is it taking Washington so incredibly long to announce their
new team logo and name?! Coming up with another
internationally-recognizable emblem and catchy team title should not
be such a challenging aim!” you understandably-yet-naively spout
(with a selective perspective on why Daniel Snyder would opt for the
slow-boat-ideation route).
"Dan Snyder and Coach Rivera are working [so closely, so
very, very] closely to develop a new
name and design approach that will enhance the standing of our
proud, tradition rich franchise and inspire our sponsors, fans and
community for the next 100 years," the team said in a statement (to
expected nationwide catcalls with no foreseeable abatement).
First and foremost, the nature of the beast (and one who lives off
an arrogance feast), err, someone like Snyder (with such a
tremendously-bruised ego) will go out of his way to ensure the
replacements for his team’s long-standing symbol and name are
in-no-way susceptible to also becoming toast. No one can fault him
for (perhaps) not feverishly jumping at the initial concepts
presented, lest a hasty choice leave his tenure further-impaled and
beyond-resented. Snyder may be prototypically bottom line, but even
he can appreciate how this painful question can be answered through
a most handsome and forward-thinking design. Snyder (like any
embattled owner of a multibillion-dollar business entity) may want
to see this problem in the rearview mirror “yesterday” in the worst
possible way, but even he knows there can be nothing canned about
the new brand.
No one can fault him for having potentially genuine (or feigned)
interest in getting (both local and national) fans involved to
ensure the problem is truly put to bed and collectively solved. It
is seemingly wise to take advantage of the instant, creative, social
media groundswell to ensure popular concepts are rapidly-debated and
more-easily evolved.
Right on cue, artistically-enthused fans (with a lil’ free time on
their hands) “came down from the stands,” and jumped to “corporate
ID” action to accelerate some rebranding traction. Participants have
delivered on an expected mix of macho, political, and historical
inspiration, though some attempts would leave a poorly-performing
Washington team open to the usual, “playful,” name-altering
constipation.
“Washington Warriors” – though hardly original – might prove
honorable towards Americans so aboriginal. “Washington Senators” may
receive an instant knock, as it would remind fans that – whether on
Capitol Hill or between the hashmarks of the gridiron – D.C.
“enjoys” routine gridlock. “Washington Red Tails” would recognize
the African-American and Caribbean-born Tuskegee Airmen of World War
II (which – for the D.C.-area majority – might be quite the
representative coup). While the “Washington Hogs” – on “Any Given
Sunday,” Monday, or Thursday – could find themselves being eyed as
“pigs for slaughter,” there is ONE name over which legal attention
could not be any hotter.
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Daniel Snyder – after “a[n oh so deep and extremely] thorough internal review” – had determined
which new team name to pursue. “Washington Redwolves” would appear
to be his ideal, but an active court battle (with current trademark
holder Martin McCaulay) may only be properly resolved by
(significant) financial appeal.
According to the franchise’s executive vice president and chief
marketing officer Terry Bateman, “A rebrand like this is a
12-18-month process if you want to do it right,” but that is also a
half-truth in light of Snyder’s now-singularly-focused trademark
fight. Still, if Snyder and company keep their collective word (in
taking at least a season to avoid another, eventual branding turd),
and – certainly – if McCaulay’s asking price is far from nice, it
will not be anytime soon that the Washington Redwolves will be
barking at the D.C. moon.
Will They Or Won’t They?
NFL fans (especially those within the NFC East) can only attempt to
be reasonably kind to Washington supporters (those shell-shocked but
not those deliberately blind) who just want to watch their team play
and (perhaps, in the parody-driven NFL) successfully represent.
People know there will always be a faction of those followers (who
place the team’s former name and emblem far above the game-winning
PLAYER performances and) who refuse to repent.
AHHHHH, pfffffft! Who is The Tortured Cowboys Fan fooling? Will an
even worse, Snyder-strangled, Washington future have “Cowboys
Nation” further-drooling?
Just when the NFL and Snyder thought they had little else from which
to steer clear, another long-ignored issue – courtesy of the
Washington Post – struck immediate fear. Following sexual harassment
accusations from 17 women – 15 team (current or former?) employees
and two media members – against former (?) club officials, Snyder’s
stewardship may continue to slowly (?) slip. Between an embarrassing
rebranding and office behavioral problems expanding, talk about
potentially going from “worse to hearse.”
Will Commissioner Roger Goodell and the other 31 team owners
publicly begin (or privately continue) to view Snyder’s franchise as
something to strip (before he successfully demonstrates that he can
get a grip)? OR – for an issue that almost certainly entangles many
more organizations than just that Washington team – will the NFL
attempt to aggressively isolate the incident before, perhaps,
DECADES of other silenced “Me, Too” victims begin to
point and
scream?
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- The NFL said the allegations are “serious,
[deeply] disturbing and contrary
to the NFL’s [routinely-espoused] values,” and Snyder said the suggested conduct “has no
place in our franchise or society.” Will (some but not all) fans
take the league and Snyder at their united word (that – on its face
– is historically absurd), or will fans justifiably question their
sobriety?
We shall see. We always do.-
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Part 1
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Part 2
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Part 3
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Part 4
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