History does not necessarily repeat itself , but sometimes it makes echoes . An echo from 50 years ago reverberates today over the flap regarding the Redskins nickname and logo . Disturbed by the Redskins quarter-century ban against African-American players , the Kennedy administration in 1961 , with Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall spearheading the effort , instructed team owner George Preston Marshall to lift the racial ban or face federal sanction . Marshall had signed a 50-year contract to play home games in the newly constructed D.C. Stadium scheduled to open in 1962 . The federal government controlled the land on which the stadium sat , and as landlord it would deny use to any employer who practiced racial discrimination . Marshall was initially defiant . He would never yield to the government 's demand . The Redskins had a long history and tradition of `` no black players '' that resonated with its fervent fan base . If he signed black players , white fans might retaliate by not buying tickets and merchandise . Did n't the Kennedy administration have more important issues to deal with than whether the Redskins had a black player ? And why blacks in particular ? Why not other ethnic groups ? Why not a female player ? The move to integrate the Redskins was liberalism run amok , said traditionalists . Troublemaking socialists were trying to tell a business owner how to run his business . But the federal threat of withholding use of D.C. Stadium and mounting public pressure from sports journalists , opinion shapers , NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle and the black community , including Jackie Robinson , eventually caused Marshall to jettison the team 's sacred lily white tradition and hire black players . At the time , few Americans , including Udall himself , considered the Redskins nickname racially insensitive . In fact , Udall played high school football and basketball for the St. Johns , Arizona -- you guessed it -- Redskins . In the 1930s when Udall went to high school and in the early 1960s when he headed the interior department , racial stereotypes were commonplace . African-Americans were referred to as `` darkies '' and `` colored , '' and Native Americans as `` redskins . '' On TV Westerns , `` Indians '' were sometimes portrayed as noble characters , but `` redskins '' almost never were . Over the decades , most Americans have come to learn that names like `` darkies , '' `` colored '' and `` redskins , '' not to mention the N-word , are considered racially offensive and hurtful . The Washington Redskins made a partial concession to racial sensitivity in the early 1960s when they cleaned up the demeaning language in their fight song , which read , in part , `` Scalp 'um , swamp 'um , we will take 'um big score . '' Unlike George Marshall , Dan Snyder , the present-day owner of the Washington football team , is no racist . Nor are the vast majority of the team 's fans . But he , and perhaps most fans of the team , refuses to acknowledge that the nickname and logo are offensive . Like Marshall , he is being pressured by the President of the United States and the commissioner of the NFL to consider a name change . Like Marshall , he is defiant . He will `` NEVER '' give up the name . Fans of the team defend the name and logo on the basis of history and tradition . But a half century earlier , diehard fans were using history and tradition to defend a system of racial segregation in the South . American Nazis paraded outside D.C. Stadium carrying signs reading `` Keep Redskins White . '' Just like then , current defenders of tradition blast liberals for interfering in an issue that is none of their business . Traditionalists claim the nickname honors Native Americans . But the name is no more ennobling than slurs for Jews , Irish , Japanese or other Asians . Some fans ask why focus on the Redskins in particular ? Because names like Chiefs , Indians ( minus Chief Wahoo ) and Braves ( minus the tomahawk chop ) are not demeaning . `` What about the Irish of Notre Dame ? '' one of my college students asked . `` That 's not offensive or demeaning , '' I replied , `` but what if they were named 'the Drunken Irish ' ? '' `` That would be even better , '' he said . That answer got a laugh but no one really took him seriously . Just as in George Marshall 's day , public opinion is mounting for racial sensitivity . A president has become involved . Native Americans have filed a lawsuit against the trademark . Representatives of the Oneida nation have met with officials of the NFL to protest the nickname and logo . On Wednesday Oneida Indians thanked President Obama for supporting a name change . Journalists like Christine Brennan of USA Today , Bob Costas of NBC Sports , Peter King of Sports Illustrated , and Maureen Dowd of The New York Times and others have advocated for a nickname change . The echo is loud and clear . Eventually the Washington team owner will hear it .
Kennedy , in 1961 asked Redskins team owner to lift its racial ban . Thomas Smith : 50 years later , President Obama said Redskins name should be retired . He said diehard fans use history and tradition to defend offensive name and logo . Smith : Public opinion calls for racial sensitivity ; current owners will have to change .