When you hear ‘Washington Redskins’ what do you think?

Is it the beloved name of your team that’s represented D.C. more than 75 years or a revolting slur, spelled by hatred and insensitivity towards Native Americans?

Every few years it seems, a debate that pits these two questions against one another is spurred, kicking the heels of a Redskins fan base divided against the issue.

Jordan Black, who spent 2012 as a Redskin before unexpectedly being suspended by the NFL for a positive PED test, thinks the name ‘Redskins’ represents something that is ferocious in battle, and for that reason the team should never change its name.

On Monday, a tweet by Black served as the catalyst to this very debate, which erupted on his timeline afterward:


“A Redskin and football: how do those relate to each other?” Black asked Lavar and Dukes on 106.7 the Fan Monday. “Well I mean, you want your team to be named after something that is imposing; that is ferocious in battle; that is something you don’t want to mess with. That’s a good thing.”

Black understands why people were upset with him for calling those who opposed his position ‘overly sensitive’ but insists his comment was coming from a good place.

“I believe that all men are created equal,” Black said. “In the eyes of God we’re all equal. I do not put myself above any person, any group of people. I can understand that people saying me making the comment: ‘people are too sensitive’; I could understand that they kind of view that as an attack. But the bottom line is, why would someone name their team after something they didn’t like?

He made the comment after getting riled up from reading an article about Native American groups being offended by the team name, but says people should understand why he was upset by it.

“I read an article about people being offended at the name and it kind of got me frustrated because when I think about getting offended, I think, why can’t people be offended at stuff that matters: like education, like the national debt, like things that can really impact this country? I think the name of a team doesn’t rank up there with education and debt, and feeding the hungry, so that kind of got me frustrated.”

For once, a pro-Redskins opinion that goes beyond the flimsy confines of: ‘It’s just tradition.’

Follow Jordan Black on Twitter.


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