In potentially quite big news showing that some of the excesses of the woke years are on the way out, or at least retreating into the background as Americans wake up to those excesses and start pushing back on them, Washington Commanders managing partner Josh Harris and ownership group of the Commenters have said that they will un-cancel the Redskins logo, which is of the iconic Blackfoot chief, and its history.
As background, the team now known as the Washington Commanders ditched the Redskins logo in 2020 because of concerns, largely sparked by the death of George Floyd and resulting protests, that it was offensive. Since then, the team has not only changed logos, but past images involving the logo have been censored.
For example, a local D.C. news station started removing the logo in its archival footage and photos of the team. Similarly, when the NFL posted on X to honor previous Super Bowl winners, it censored the logo. Even the team sold a shirt that also blocked the logo. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) spoke before the Senate and commented on those examples of censorship.
It is Sen. Daines who appears to have led much of the charge to un-cancel the logo. He, in an appearance on Fox News Channel’s “America Reports,” said, “We were calling out leaders in case of really, woke gone wrong. The irony that they were canceling Native American culture as the DEI movement went way too far.”
Continuing, he noted that the logo is meant to honor the tribe, saying, “This is honoring a Blackfeet chief who was born in Montana. He is highly esteemed. The Blackfeet tribe of Montana, their current chairman and tribal council signed a letter in strong support to bring the logo back. It honors Indian Country.”
Building on that, he described what uncancellation of the logo might mean, saying that “good faith” talks indicate the logo could be used again. He said, “We have good discussions with the NFL and with the Commanders. There’s good faith in negotiations going forward that’s going to allow this logo to be used again.”
He added that revenues could go toward helping Native Americans, saying, “Perhaps revenues going to a foundation that could help Native Americans in sports and so forth. We’re making good progress and, based on the good faith negotiations, I made a decision to support this bill yesterday in the committee.” Watch him here:
Posting about the matter on Facebook, Sen. Daines wrote, “The censorship of the former Commanders logo was a classic case of woke gone wrong. I applaud the Commanders & the NFL for their commitment to never censor the logo again.” He added, “And for working with the [Walter ‘Blackie’] Wetzel family to restore the logo to a place of prominence and honor to benefit Indian Country.”
In another such post, he included a picture of the old logo and captioned it by saying, “Serving in uniform at the highest percentage per capita of any ethnic group, Native Americans’ contributions to our nation are beyond dispute, and this rich heritage should be honored. This Veterans Day, let’s celebrate this incredible legacy!🇺🇸”
In another post, he included a picture of an old Sports Illustrated cover showing a player wearing the old logo. He said, “52 years ago this month—Native American Heritage Month—this was the @SInow cover. Iconic picture. Iconic Blackfeet logo. Not only should it never be censored, it should be restored to a place of honor.”
And, posting a video of himself speaking before the Senate about censorship of the logo and what it means about hiding Native American history, he captioned it by saying, “There’s no reason to censor an image of a prominent Native American. On the contrary, Native American history should be celebrated and honored.” Watch that speech here:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video
