Change the Mascot is a national campaign to end the use of the racial slur “r*dskins” as the mascot and name of the NFL team in Washington, D.C. Launched by the Oneida Indian Nation, the campaign calls upon the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell to do the right thing and bring an end the use of the racial epithet. View Our Fact Sheet
- Read: Native Americans Unite to Speak Out Against Racially Offensive Mascot Name
- View: Ten facts omitted by the Washington D.C. team’s new PR website
- Read: Letters to Twitter, Google and Facebook from the Change the Mascot Campaign
- Editorial: “A Change Will Come” by Oneida Nation Representative Ray Halbritter
EMPIRICAL STUDIES
LATEST PRESS RELEASE
New Washington NFL Team Name Signifies Hard-Won Victory for Native Americans
The name change represents important first step; NFL must still acknowledge and apologize for the harm caused through its continued use of a dictionary defined slur.
February 2, 2022
IN THE NEWS
Ray Halbritter Op-Ed, CNN: The terrible R-word that football needed to lose
July 13, 2020
Oneida Nation leader Ray Halbritter on Washington NFL team change: ‘It’s about respect’
July 13, 2020
Wall Street Journal: Washington’s NFL Team Officially Drops the R*dskins Name
July 13, 2020
ESPN: Washington NFL team says it will retire R*dskins name, logo
July 13, 2020
Oneida Nation leader to R*dskins: ‘Stand on the right side of history’
July 4, 2020
R*dskins to undergo ‘thorough review’ of nickname
July 3, 2020
Washington R*dskins Urged to Lose Name, or Millions in Sponsorships
July 1, 2020
Report: Investors send letters asking Nike, FedEx, PepsiCo to terminate relationships with R*dskins
July 1, 2020
Unless Daniel Snyder changes R*dskins’ name, RFK site is off the table, officials say
July 1, 2020
Statue of former R*dskins owner George Preston Marshall removed from RFK Stadium
June 19, 2020
Jeva Lange, The Week: We’re missing the most glaringly racist brands.
June 18, 2020
Teton School District Replaces R*dskins Mascot
June 17, 2020
The R*dskins’ name is the shameful statue of the NFL. Tear it down.
June 16, 2020
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser: R*dskins need to change team name
June 12, 2020
Native American Advocates Call Out R*dskins and Other Teams Condemning Racism
June 3, 2020
Michigan schools scraps R*dskins mascot, citing division
March 9, 2020
Illinois lawmakers have introduced a bill to ban Native American mascots
Feb. 27, 2020
Washington R*dskins’ name, Native mascots offend more than previously reported
By Yasmin Anwar, Berkeley News, Feb. 4, 2020
Native American leaders say fight to change Washington R*dskins mascot continues
By Payne Horning, WRVO, May 31, 2016
We must stop the NFL from exporting racism
By Rep. Betty McCollum and Michael Dugher, MP, Feb. 29, 2016
Dolphins owner’s anti-racism group should address team name
By Ray Halbritter and Jacqueline Pata, Dec. 25, 2015
Monument to Segregationist Should be Removed from RFK Stadium
By Rev. Graylan Scott Hagler and Ray Halbritter
The destructive dynamic of dehumanizing Native Americans
By Ray Halbritter and Jacqueline Pata
Change the Mascot leader Ray Halbritter talked with The Hollywood Reporter regarding the use of racist American Indian imagery in professional sports.
Watch: The Daily Show’s recent interview with Native American author Sherman Alexie. The segment extensively discusses the Washington NFL team’s use of the R-word slur, and how Native Americans are often left out of discussions about the name and its offensive nature.
- “I know that R*dskins is a racial slur because it’s never been said in a positive way to me,” Alexie said in the interview. “For all of these fans of the R*dskins and the sports teams, I would challenge them to go into a tribal setting, you know, go to a tribal council meeting, and walk in and yell out to the assembled Natives ‘Hello R*dskins’ and see how that goes.'”
Read: British Members of Parliament urge NFL to change Washington name or send different team to U.K.
- See also: Leading national British newspaper The Independent recently published a column centered around the Washington NFL team’s trip to London scheduled for next season. The piece urges Wembley Stadium, which will host the team in October, to be consistent in its strong anti-racism stands when the D.C. franchise visits with a mascot the paper describes as “racist and derogatory.” The article also calls upon the BBC, which will broadcast the game, to honor its responsibilities by standing against the offensive name.
MEDIA SPOTLIGHT
Change the Mascot Praises Adidas for Momentous Offer to Help End Offensive Native American Mascots – read more
VIDEO – President Barack Obama Pushes Adidas to Work with Washington’s NFL on changing the name.
VIDEO – California Senate Education Committee Hearing on AB30 “California Racial Mascots Act” Press Conference.
- Read the letter to NFL players
- View the current and former NFL player, coaches and executives in support of change
- 50 Senators to NFL: Follow NBA’s Lead and Change Washington Team Name
Oneida Indian Nation Praises New York Lawmakers for Resolution Calling on Pro Sports Leagues to Stop Using Racial Slurs – read more
VIDEO: Remarks by Oneida Nation Representative Ray Halbritter
VIDEO: Remarks by members of the New York State Assembly and Senate supporting the Resolution
Ray Halbritter appears on ESPN’s Outside the Lines
Oneida Indian Nation Representative Ray Halbritter appeared live on ESPN’s Outside the Lines on Thursday, April 25, reacting to the latest comments by Washington NFL team owner Dan Snyder.
Below are the video clips of Ray Halbritter’s comments on the ESPN program:
Ray Halbritter – ESPN clip #1
Ray Halbritter – ESPN clip #2
Ray Halbritter – ESPN clip #3
MILESTONES
Noted Psychologist Dr. Michael Friedman reports on the harmful effects of the use of a racial slur
Read: The Fascination and Frustration with Native American Mascots
By Jennifer Guiliano, assistant director of the Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities
Read: Oneida Indian Nation Responds to President Obama’s Historic Comments About Washington’s NFL Team Name.
*The President’s comments come just two days before the Indian Nation’s “Change the Mascot” symposium at the NFL Fall Meeting.
- Watch a short video with highlights from the Symposium – click here
- Watch the Symposium remarks by The Hon. Eleanor Holmes Norton – click here
- Watch the Symposium remarks by The Hon. Betty McCollum – click here
- Watch the Symposium remarks by Dr. Michael Friedman, Psychologist – click here
- Watch the Symposium remarks by Kevin Gover, Director of the National Museum of the American Indian – click here
- Watch the Symposium remarks by Cooperstown (NY) School Board President Dr. David Borgstrom and High School Students Emily Greenberg and Catherine Borgstrom – click here
- Watch the interview with the President on NBC – click here