US institutionalised racism is coming to the UK – through American football

Despite attempts by the Washington football team and its billionaire owner to muddy the waters with absurd claims, I assure you that Native Americans do not consider the use of the disparaging 'R-word' term to be an honour

The NFL has come to London (Getty Images)

Imagine a crass slur appearing on the huge scoreboard at the venerated Wembley Stadium. Picture London awash in obviously racist imagery. When the NFL team from Washington, D.C. visits England’s capital this weekend for a game of American football that is precisely what you will see.

Shockingly, the team still uses the dictionary-defined R-word racial slur as its franchise name, despite mounting calls for change from the very people it claims to “honour” and countless other thought leaders from across our country and the world.

American football in the United Kingdom shines a light on an outdated and embarrassing example of institutionalised racism in America – the continued use and promotion of a derogatory epithet slandering indigenous peoples. But the good news for the British public is that you are in a position to educate yourselves on the facts now, consider the issues objectively, and reject this damaging racist term before it takes root in your country the way it has in America.

The UK has worked too hard for too long to excise the poison of racism from sport. Trailblazing resolutions in the House of Commons and powerful educational campaigns such as Kick It Out, Show Racism the Red Card and Say No to Racism have been an inspiration to many of us in the United States working to encourage America’s professional athletic teams to show respect for people of all races.

Despite attempts by the Washington football team and its billionaire owner to muddy the waters with absurd claims, I assure you that Native Americans do not consider the use of the disparaging R-word term to be an “honour.” It is an offensive relic of hatred screamed at indigenous peoples as they were dragged at gunpoint off of their sacred lands by the colonists who left England to settle the New World. The R-word mascot so adamantly defended by the team literally refers to our alleged skin tone and the bloody scalps ripped from dead Native Americans bodies that were once used as proof of kill to collect a bounty.

Unfortunately, the R-word slur was further ingrained into our society when the Washington team’s first owner, one of our country’s most infamous segregationists, gave the squad its inglorious name. He also ensured that the team was the very last in the league to allow African American players, and only did so after the government stepped in and threatened action.

This shameful history of degradation has created an institutionalised issue that still causes very real problems today. Social science research has shown that continued use of this degrading epithet has devastating impacts on the self-image and mental health of Native Americans, particularly children. And further, such mascotisation makes others exposed to it more likely to negatively stereotype both Native peoples and other minorities overall.

Native Americans are united in their stand against the use of this harmful slur. Every major organisation in the U.S. representing Native Americans has called for the name to change. This includes the National Congress of American Indians – the oldest, largest and most representative American Indian organisation in the country, the United South and Eastern Tribes, and the National Indian Education Association, along with dozens of individual tribes from all across the country.

The Change the Mascot campaign has helped Americans from all walks of life better understand the issue and what’s at stake. Our movement is humbled to have been joined by civil rights groups, religious leaders, public health organisations, sports icons, leading news organisations, Members of Congress from both parties, mayors, governors and even the President of the United States.

In fact, half of the U.S. Senate even signed a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell advocating for a change to the offensive name and mascot of Washington’s team. In urging the league to listen to the demands of those opposing the name, the United Nations Special Rapporteur James Anaya noted in a report on the impact of the slur that the term “is inextricably linked to a history of suffering and dispossession.”

We are working hard to educate people about the degrading roots and damaging effects of what has sadly become ingrained as “tradition.” But your country can awaken to these problems from day one, and speak out against this offensive and racist term before its use becomes commonplace. Rather than simply accepting the continued use of this patently offensive term, we hope that the British people will reject its use and in so doing embrace the values of civility, equality and respect.

Change the Mascot hopes that your citizens will reject the R*dskins jerseys that depicts Native peoples as cartoonish mascots. We hope that you speak out now, before intolerance and racism becomes institutionalised and accepted as they have in the United States when it comes to this hateful epithet.

This spread of brazen bigotry is a threat to both of our countries. We implore the British people and your leadership to join the Change the Mascot campaign and reject this racist name.

Ray Halbritter is Oneida Indian Nation Representative and leader of the Change the Mascot campaign