The Washington Redskins are no longer the Washington Redskins. For now, they are Washington. As for the rest, well, that will come with time.
The NFL’s Washington franchise dropped its team name and Indian head logo Monday, yielding to recent pressure from sponsors, not to mention decades of criticism that the name – “Redskins” – is racist and offensive to Native Americans.
While reaction to the name change has been mixed, Pro Football Hall of Famer and former Washington cornerback Darrell Green has no problem with it.
“I'm glad about it,” Green said on Tiki & Tierney. “I applaud Dan Snyder for making this decision . . . It's always been a disparaging thing hanging over this team. But again, I applaud this decision, and I agree with it. This is a reconciling of history. I think because of where we are in our nation, this is great. This is great. All these things that they’re doing, we’re finally going to say that human beings . . . get first place again. . . . I applaud that across the board in our nation.”
This marks the NFL’s first name chance since the Tennessee Oilers became the Tennessee Titans two seasons after moving from Houston. The team’s new name is yet to be determined, but Red Tails, Red Wolves, and Redhawks are reportedly in the running.
Green is partial to Red Tails, which would honor the Tuskegee Airmen.
“Let’s celebrate some of the greatest men – regardless of their color,” he said. “These men, when they went up there, they were under great duress; when they landed, they were under great duress. So let’s call them the Red Tails. There’s thousands more other great men and women and names that we could name it, but the Red Tails celebrates one of the greatest communities or [groups] that our country has ever seen. That would be something all of us could get excited about.”
Green, 60, played for Washington from 1983 to 2002. He was a seven-time Pro Bowler, a four-time first-team All Pro and won two Super Bowls. He was named Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year in 1996 and is currently the associate AD at George Mason University.
Green has no problem with “Redskins” being removed from the Hall of the Fame or anything pertaining to his career.
“For me, you can throw all of mine away,” he said. “I’m saying humans first. Humans first. If it offends people, humans first. . . . I can identify with the new team if they allow me to. When I played the game, I wouldn’t have played it for free. I played it because they paid me. They don’t owe me anything, and I don’t owe them anything. So I’m not hung up on that [history]. I'm more excited about [things changing]. When you’re talking about the world that we’re living in today, we’re talking about overcoming things that have been painful for 400 years – more than that for Native Americans. More than that for others. So, dude, little Darrell Green and his little football career? Have it. You can have it.”