Last Sunday, Dan Snyder and his Washington football team made their latest effort to propagate the notion that Native Americans support the franchise's controversial Redskins nickname, bringing the president of the Navajo Nation -- conspicuously clad with a logo hat -- into the owner's box for a game. But activists in Minnesota plan to counterbalance that notion and have organized what they hope will be the largest-ever protest of the team's name when Washington visits Minneapolis on Nov. 2 to play the Vikings, according to the Washington Post.
Minnesota activists planning largest-ever ‘Redskins’ protest
Community and student organizers hope to make a statement when Washington plays the Vikings on the campus of the University of Minnesota next month.
Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
Organizers have been at work for weeks planning a rally at University of Minnesota’s TCF Bank Stadium, the Vikings’ temporary home while their new stadium is built. More than 700 people protested when Minnesota hosted Washington last November, and even larger numbers are expected this time.
“This issue, this rally, is going to be shown all over the world,” said David Glass, president of the Minneapolis-based National Coalition Against Racism in Sports and Media.
Minnesota is home to over 100,000 Native Americans and more than 1,100 students in the state’s flagship university system identify themselves as such. Two months ago the school asked the Vikings to limit use of the Washington nickname in game-day and promotional material, but has taken flak for not pressing the franchise on the issue. The Vikings have not decided whether to grant the request, citing an obligation to market the game.
Rep. Betty McCollum told the Washington Post that the terms of the university’s contract with the Vikings allow them legal standing to clip the nickname, an opinion supported by at least two university law professors but disagreed upon by the school’s legal counsel.
McCollum points to the following contract stipulation: “The Vikings shall not take any action or use any language in its use of the Facilities that might reasonably be expected to offend contemporary community standards, such as use of ... language that might denigrate any class or group of people.”
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