On Thursday’s “Pardon the Interruption” on ESPN, co-host Michael Wilbon reacted to a Washington Post poll that found 9 out of 10 Native Americans are not offended by the name of the Washington Redskins football team.
Wilbon said he was “stunned” by the findings of the poll, thinking the majority of Native Americans would be offended, adding that “this shuts the door on the issue” of changing the Redskins’ name.
“If you asked me what the result would yield, I’d say, ‘six in 10 or seven in 10 Native Americans would say, ‘Yes, get rid of this,'” Wilbon said. “As someone who has not said, ‘Change the name,’ but somebody who has said, ‘This is offensive. Do whatever you do with your team, but don’t tell me it’s not offensive,’ I think this shuts the door on the issue for the short term, and maybe the long term.”
He later added, “To me, while other people can say what they want to say, what Native Americans feel about this is much more important. It’s like what black people think about the n-word, that vote counts more. I’m listening to this poll, saying, ‘Wow, let me take a step back.'”
Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent
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