Former Native American Chief: I'd Be 'Offended' if Redskins Change Name

A longtime chief of a major Virginia Native American tribe said he would be offended if the Washington Redskins DID change the team name and said society has gotten too “politically correct” and “touchy” these days.

Speaking on Sirius XM NFL Radio’s “The Morning Drive” on Wednesday, Robert “Two Eagles” Green, whom CBS notes “retired from his presiding role over the 1300-member Patawomeck Tribe in March,” said most members of his tribe “don’t find” the Redskins name to be “offensive.” 

“I’ve been a Redskins fan for years and to be honest with you, I would be offended if they did change it,” Green said. 

Chief Green said his research indicated the term came from Indians, and it is “not a term that the white man created.” He said Native Americans used the term to refer to themselves in negotiations with white settlers and noted “we have people in this country that try and gin up problems that don’t exist.”

He believes the term originated when Native Americans applied a bug repellant that caused their skins to turn red, prompting early settlers to remark “that their skins turn red.”

He also said there was “nothing offensive about the logo” and that “one of the great things about the logo is that it’s an Eastern Indian, and they didn’t go to the full warhead headdress and things.”

“It was never intended to be offensive. I think that sometimes, we’re a little too touchy in our society these days,” he said. 

He added that the country “has become too politically correct. And you can find it in any number of areas. Little League, where everybody has to get a trophy now, or otherwise, the poor child that doesn’t get a trophy will have his psyche hurt.”

Even though Redskins owner Dan Snyder said he would “NEVER” change the team’s name, the Redskins have been pressured by Washington, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray in addition to Members of Congress. Recently, Republican Rep. Tom Cole (OK) joined nine Democrats in signing a letter to Snyder, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, NFL owners, and FedEx asking them to change the name of the football team they deemed to be “offensive.”