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JUDY WOODRUFF: A decades-old 
controversy over the name of the 
Washington, D.C., professional

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football reaching a 
tipping point today.

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As Amna Nawaz reports, 
after years of public 
outcry condemning the 
name as a racial slur

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aimed at Native Americans, 
ownership is now 
considering a change.

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AMNA NAWAZ: That's right, Judy.

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In a statement today, the team 
said it's launching a -- quote, 
unquote -- "thorough review" of

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their name. That came after 
major corporate backers FedEx 
and Pepsi called publicly for

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the change. Another 
sponsor, Nike, pulled team 
merchandise from its Web site.

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For more on today's decision 
and what drove it, I'm joined 
by Washington Post columnist

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Kevin Blackistone. He's 
also producing a documentary 
called "Imagining the 
Indian," examining the

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fight against Native American 
mascots in the world of sports.

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Kevin, welcome back 
to the "NewsHour."

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There have been calls for 
years, we should point out, to 
change the Washington team's

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name. Let's start with your 
reaction. What do you make 
about the decision and statement

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from the team today?

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KEVIN BLACKISTONE, University 
of Maryland: Well, I am glad 
that we are finally at this

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press precipice once again. 
I hope this nickname issue 
can be shoved over the ledge.

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I don't make much of the 
statement today. First of all, 
I am offended they would use

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the name in the statement and 
underscore it. I am offended 
that Dan Snyder -- statement

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from him did not include, as 
a group of people to talk to, 
the Native Americans who are,

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in fact, offended by this and 
have been fighting for a name 
change for some 50 years now.

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And I was a little bit disturbed 
as well by coach Rivera's 
statement which somehow included

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the military as being honored 
in all of this, which is 
baffling to me, because the only

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way you bring up the military 
in terms of Native Americans 
is with genocide, and the

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fact that the militias in this 
country back in Connecticut 
and Massachusetts, when the

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colonies were being 
founded, included bounties 
or issued bounties for 
the scalps of Native

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Americans being removed 
from their land.

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And, in fact, that is what 
became known as redskins. So, 
it was tone-deaf to me in a

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lot of ways.

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AMNA NAWAZ: You mentioned 
the statement from 
team owner Dan Snyder.

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I want to read to our 
viewers in full his quote 
from that statement.

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He wrote: "The process" 
-- meaning this process 
they are now going launch 
-- "allows the team

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to take into account not 
only the proud tradition 
and history of the 
franchise, also input from

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our alumni, the organization, 
sponsors, the NFL and the 
local community it is proud to

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represent on and off the field."

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Kevin, I am old enough 
to remember back in 2013 
when Snyder was asked 
about a name change,

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and he said, never, all caps, 
we will never change the name.

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So, is that where the resistance 
was? Was it really just Snyder?

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KEVIN BLACKISTONE: You 
know, there was certainly 
the fan base that he has 
very much made himself

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a part of, a fan base which, 
by the way, has not liked his 
leadership for the team in terms

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of winning games on the field.

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But maybe around this nickname 
is the one place where he felt 
that the fans would support

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him. And there has been support 
from fans. But it is not 
about the fans. This is about

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humanity. This is about treating 
other people as equals. This 
is about no longer denigrating

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the Native people of this land.

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And that is what this movement 
is all about. And I think it 
is really interesting that

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the shift now has been made by 
the Black Lives Matter movement, 
right? Because this started

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out weeks ago as a protest 
against police lethality against 
black men in this country

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with George Floyd's death.

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And then it became an attack on 
Confederate iconology in this 
country. And then it became

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an attack on Christopher 
Columbus and his true history. 
And we have seen the removal

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of those statues. And 
Christopher Columbus 
is the one who really 
is representative when

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it comes to Native American 
genocide in this country.

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And that relates -- that's the 
seed of racism in this country 
which relates all the way

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back to this nickname.

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AMNA NAWAZ: Want to ask you 
about some of the external 
pressure, though, because we

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mentioned some of those 
corporate backers and 
their statements and 
their actions this

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week, FedEx saying, within 
days, we want the name changed.

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Nike saying -- or Nike, rather, 
looking like it took all the 
merchandise off of its Web

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site.

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When you look at this 
decision from the Washington 
team's perspective, 
was it a moral one? Did

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they finally realize, OK, 
this is the right move? 
Or was it a market one?

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KEVIN BLACKISTONE: This 
is absolutely a market 
move. This is hitting 
them in the pocketbook.

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I would like to be able to 
say today that this was an 
altruistic move by this team,

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but, as you alluded to earlier 
in this report, this has been 
a struggle that has been going

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on for years. We thought that, 
in 2014 and 2013, that things 
were going to become different,

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that that was an opportunity 
for this team to move in another 
direction, get on the right

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side of history.

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Dan Snyder could have done this 
when he purchased a team. You 
would think that Dan Snyder, a

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Jewish-American, would have 
some particular sensibility 
about the struggle that has been

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going on with this team's 
nickname with Native 
Americans for so many years.

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But that hasn't happened. So 
this is strictly a reaction to 
forces that are pushing in this

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country right now, 
social justice forces. 
And particularly as it 
relates to this franchise,

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it is a pocketbook issue now, 
with these major sponsors 
starting to push back.

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AMNA NAWAZ: Kevin, in just 
the few seconds we have left, 
there are other pro leagues

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that have Native American 
mascots, MLB, NHL. Do you think 
this decision can spur change

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in those leagues too?

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KEVIN BLACKISTONE: Absolutely.

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This is the top of this iceberg, 
an iceberg that, by the way, 
has been eroding beneath

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the water, as high school after 
high school and college after 
high college that have had

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these sorts of nicknames and 
these sorts of images, have 
removed them from their teams.

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AMNA NAWAZ: That is Kevin 
Blackistone, Washington 
Post columnist and 
producer of the upcoming

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documentary "Imagining 
the Indian."

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Thank you, Kevin.

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KEVIN BLACKISTONE: 
Thank you very much.