Rob quoted on Washington Redskins

In DC, Talk of Redskins, Pigskins, and Winds of Change

By Christina RoseDoes a flurry of media support point to a turning of the tides on the Redskin team name? Recent chatter is promising: Washington, D.C.’s Mayor Vincent C. Gray recently challenged the Redskins Football Team to a conversation about the name, Representative Tom Cole has called for the name's retirement, and a Washington Post columnist sparked discussion by declaring that “bad karma” may have caused the debilitating injury of Redskin’s star player Robert Griffin III.And:The news of the mayor’s comment and the contest spread far and wide through Facebook and Twitter, and even Rush Limbaugh announced the time for change is on the horizon. In a transcript from Limbaugh’s January 9 show, he sadly stated, “There's nothing we can do. Folks, the Redskins are gonna have to change the name of the team. That's what's gonna happen.”

While Limbaugh predicted change, he hardly endorsed it. Instead, he padded his disdain for the change with this comment, “...environmentalist wackos love Native Americans. They're on a par with blacks, having been slaughtered, genocide, and all that as far as the leftists are concerned.”And:Rob Schmidt, whose popular blog Newspaper Rock has focused on Native stereotypes for more than a decade, suspects the current burst of media support is not just a flare-up. He noted, “There seems to be at least a spark of interest on the part of the media for change. In the past, columnists might have written an occasional column that was quickly forgotten, but this time it does look like there is a groundswell of support. Stereotypes have more and more been in the news with No Doubt’s “Looking Hot” video and the recent Victoria Secret outfits. There is a rising tide of awareness. Hopefully there will be some change, and hopefully it will be sooner rather than later.”Comment:  For more on the Washington Redskins, see Indians Are "Whiners," Not Warriors? and "Redskins" Approaching a Tipping Point?