The R* Word--Or Why Names Matter

I'm not a jock. I never was. I'm something of a klutz and never met a ball I couldn't drop! I have found physical activities that I enjoy, yoga, walking and cycling in particular, but I am not into competitive sports. At least not as a participant. But I am a fan. Most ardently, a Red Sox fan. As I write this, in fact, I am a bit sleep deprived because I stayed up well past my bedtime to watch game 2 of the 2013 American league Championship Series. It was a thrilling game, complete with a grand slam and a walk-off run to end it in the bottom of the ninth. Of course if you don't follow baseball, that may seem like real gobbledygook. My brilliant mother, for instance, knows more about literature than I'll ever begin to imagine. But sports? That is just not in her purview! She's never said sports are unimportant, or a waste of time,she's not that judgemental--but I suspect that may be what she thinks. Along with many others, I'm sure.

Now baseball is called America's pastime, but the truth is football has outstripped it in popularity. In fact according to an Adweek/Harris Poll taken in 2011, 64% of Americans watch NFL Football. Among men, 73%, and among women, 55%. And that is just professional ball. It doesn't even take into account those who watch college football, or that ever popular Friday night activity, high school football. Clearly, lots and lots of Americans are exposed to football, follow football, enjoy football, consider it an important part of their lives. And so while many would say sports in general and football in particular trivial, the reality is, sports greatly shape our culture as a nation.

I mention all this because of the current controversy over the name of the Washington, DC based NFL team. The Redskins. There is a growing effort to see that the name be changed. Redskins, it has been noted, is the equivalent of the N* word or other ethnic slurs. Imagine calling the team the Washington N . . . well you get the idea. Redskins is an offensive term. According to an NBC poll a majority of Americans think is should not be changed. (Today Show, 10-14-13). Some, I am sure, feel it is a tempest in a teapot. Why worry about it? It's just a nickname, and it's been around forever, and gee whiz, it's just a football team. It's just sports! But sports are important to Americans, football in particular. And the words we use and the attitudes we foster in sports do matter because they influence how we speak, how we think, how we act.

Noted sportscaster Bob Costas weighed in on the matter this past weekend. In his remarks he called for changing the name. "It is an insult, a slur, no matter how benign the present day intent." He's right. The name should be changed. Because like it or not, sports matter. And so do names.