As dissent towards the Washington Redskins’ name grows, more members of the media have been opting to not use the name in their coverage of the team.
The Washington Post editorial board is the latest to do just that.
The newspaper announced Friday that the slur will no longer be used in editorials.
“We don’t believe that fans who are attached to the name have racist feeling or intent, any more than does (Washington Redskins owner Dan) Snyder,” The Post wrote. “But the fact remains: The word is insulting. You would not dream of calling anyone a ‘redskin’ to his or her face. You wouldn’t let your son or daughter use it about a person, even within the privacy of your home.
“…What we are discussing here is a change only for editorials. Unlike our colleagues who cover sports and other news, we on the editorial board have the luxury of writing about the world as we would like it to be. Nor do we intend to impose our policy on our readers. If you write a letter about football and want to use the team name, we aren’t going to stop you.”
The Post noted that although they were able to find editorials against the name as far back as 1992, they were inspired by Post writer Mike Wise’s recent column on NFL referee Mike Carey, who quietly avoided refereeing Washington games for his final seven seasons in the league.
Photo via Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports Images
