Despite Chief Wahoo’s Retirement, Roger Goodell Will Not Try to Force Redskins to Change Their Name

It took a few decades, but Major League Baseball eventually succeeded in forcing the Cleveland Indians to retire their “Chief Wahoo” logo.

Hoping to build on that success, activists and liberal journalists are now hoping to pressure NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell into forcing the Washington Redskins to retire their team nickname.

However, after a Tuesday morning interview Goodell gave on ESPN Radio, the commissioner doesn’t seem like he’s ready to confront Redskins Owner Daniel Snyder anytime soon.

“Dan Snyder has really worked in the Native American community to understand their perspective, and I think it’s really reflected in a Washington Post poll that showed that nine out of 10 Native Americans do not take that as disrespectful,” Goodell said. “I don’t see him changing that perspective.”

The Washington Post poll conducted in the summer of 2016, put to rest what had become an increasingly loud campaign on the part of activists in the sports media to force the Redskins to change their name. However, with 90 percent of Native Americans saying they did not find the Redskins name offensive, building momentum for a name change campaign became a bit of a challenge.

Comparing Chief Wahoo to the Redskins logo will also prove challenging. Without agreeing with the campaign to remove Wahoo, it must be said that Cleveland’s cartoon caricature of an Indian, in no way compares to the Redskins logo. Which, whether anyone likes the name or not, is still a respectful image of an Indian brave.

Regardless, Snyder has remained steadfast in his determination to not change the Redskins name. Roger Goodell seems to know better than to even ask.