It has a little to do with the team name, but that is only a fraction of it. I am bothered by the team mascot name because it shows that they still cling to their racist History with a bit of pride in it. I do not respect that at all. It galls me, and I truthfully wish NFL players stood up against that team. I would applaud any player who took a stance against playing there.
Their original owner, George Preston Marshall, was an avowed racist. One of his nicknames was "The Grand Wizard." Their original fight song was racist. Their History is littered with racism. Clint Murchison, the Cowboys original owner loved to mock him for his racist ways. Their original owner is the person who convinced other NFL owners to segregate and discriminate against African American players. 13 original players such as Fritz Pollard got tossed from the NFL directly because of that man, and for 14 years no African American was allowed to play in the NFL directly because of that man. Then the other owners, led by the Rams owner Dan Reeves, decided to end segregation in 1946. The Washington owner would not. He did not end the racist practices of his team until he was threatened by the Kennedy Administration. 16 more years of racist practices. 30 in all. I don't just forget that happened because he was forced to change.
Ernie Davis, the Heisman winner out of Syracuse was the first African American player drafted by Washington. He refused to play there. His exact comment was, "I won't play for that racist son of a *****." I applaud him.
Is the mascot name racist? Hell yes. Anyone who tells you it isn't is a liar or a fool. They can tell which it is. I won't. If you doubt this I challenge you to find a reservation and walk up to a group of men and call them that name. Hell, come to Arizona and I will take you to one. If you won't do that, then deep inside you do acknowledge that the mascot name is indeed racist. It is that simple. If it isn't racist, why won't you do that? By clinging to that mascot name they are telling me that their racist past doesn't matter. Some people obviously buy that. Well, it does matter to me.
One of the greatest articles in sports History was written by Washington Beat Writer Shirley Povich about Jim Brown destroying Washington. Here is the link...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/longterm/general/povich/launch/integration.htm
Notice how many times he makes a veiled reference to the racism on the team he was hired to cover. He also once described Jim Brown as a man "born genetically incapable of playing for" Washington. I applaud him too.
I do not respect Washington's NFL team at all. I am trying to stop using their mascot name the same way some newspapers and reporters don't. I applaud them for their efforts and I am trying to follow suit. I fail at times. I do respect some of their players. I wish they had the guts not to play for that team until they completely turn away from their racist past. I wish they put honor above money. I do respect some of their fans. I wish they had the guts to admit it would be nice if the racist links to the past were all gone, not just the ones that went away because of threats, time, and the death of the racist who enacted all of these racist practices. I wish they put honor above whatever it is that they want to hang on to.
You want a point blank example of how ludicrous it is to me that they cling to the mascot name while rejecting segregation practices? It's like a restaurant owner in the South still displaying his Jim Crow days sign about not serving Negros in his private office rather than on the front door or window, and saying he is merely hanging onto a piece of History, but really is no longer racist. No, in my not so humble opinion, he's still racist, he's just forced to serve people he'd rather not because he's afraid of a lawsuit.
You're completely missing the point. See the comments above.