Reviewing news stories today and yesterday, I found a number of items that stood out to me because they appeared, one way or another, to omit an evident or crucial point -- a question not asked, a factor overlooked, or a bit of information I wished the reporter had provided. This is the first of several of these I hope to present in the next few days.
I seldom address the wide world of sports. I'm no expert and there's already a lot of coverage. But I did read Washington Post columnist Courtland Milloy's item about the Washington Redskins; Milloy is one who objects to the team's name as racist, and reports (in jest, I hope, or he may be redskinned himself by angry fans) that he has tried to jinx the team over several years; moreover, he reads its terrible win/lost record as a form of divine retribution for not altering the team's moniker.
Now, honestly, the political correctness of the team's name isn't one of the issues I've ever been able to get terribly worked up about. Lawsuits over this continue, though a recent one, as I recall, was something of a setback to those who find the name offensive, as Milloy does. But in arguing for a name change, I think Milloy missed a key argument:
The Skins ought to change their name now to hide their embarrassing, atrocious record.
After all, this is a time-honored strategy for changing unfavorable public perceptions. Right here in the Washington area, you may recall that the State Department had a little dustup recently over a nasty incident involving a contract security company called Blackwater. Hardly had this incident made headlines before the company suddenly had a new name: Xe! Surely this would work in football too?
Actually, while we're discussing the Redskins, let's look at another overlooked point. Notwithstanding all the euphoria in the press about the appointment of a new team general manager (Bruce Allen) and a new coach (Mike Shanahan), what's getting overlooked is that this business of bringing in a coach who might have had a great record somewhere in prehistory has been tried before (Joe Gibbs). Not only has that not worked for the Redskins, but (per the report of one television sportscaster) it has never produced a championship performance for any team. So let's keep our hopes up but not too high, please. Repairing the Redskins franchise (or whatever they call themselves when they change their name?) will take time and patience.
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