Getting in a dogfight with the Redskins

When the press release is the subplot of a subplot to Michael Vick and dog fighting, it's easy to overlook.

However, something about the Washington Redskins' statement about running back Clinton Portis' quote that chided law enforcement for its pursuit of Vick's involvement with dog fighting stinks.

First, let's say dog fighting is wrong, disgusting and has no place in society.

Now to the statement. It reads: “The Washington Redskins, as an organization, obviously would never condone anything related to animal cruelty. The team takes the recent comments of Clinton Portis very seriously and apologizes to everyone that was offended.”

The last part of the statement came as a shock to me because I didn't realize the Redskins were in the business of worrying whether or not people were offended by words.

Having a group named the Redskins apologize for something offensive is like having someone wearing blackface talk about racial sensitivity.

Even the NFL commissioner Roger Goodell chimed in and said he was offended by Portis comments, but for him and the league to allow a franchise to go by the name of a derogatory term also is offensive.

The term doesn't have the same meaning as when it was given to the franchise that was a play off the original name - the Boston Braves, which was changed after it moved out of the stadium it shared with the baseball team of the same name in 1932.

Don't think Redskins is offensive? Then ask the three-judge panel from the U.S. Patent and Trademark office that denied the NFL team a trademark because of its disparaging nature.

During the last few years, Native American-based mascots have been re-examined at the high school and collegiate levels nationwide.

In Nebraska, Millard South changed its mascot from Indians to Patriots in 2000. Also, last year state board of education officials said the use of Native American mascots needed to be reviewed. (No action has been taken yet).

The NCAA banned schools from using Indian imagery in postseason play and forced some to alter the logos and use of mascots.

Action has been slow and only threats of bans have forced some teams' hands. Some have received approval from local tribes - it's a wide gap from the Florida State's Chief Osceola to Illinois' Chief Illniwek.

Yet in the professional ranks, the dollar tops all interests and excuses.

Some validate the Cleveland Indians mascot, citing the legend the name honors a Native American player on the club's roster during the turn of the century, almost 15 years before it adopted the moniker. However, no matter the roots, the Chief Wahoo character logo is far from flattering.

If the Redskins need help with the change, they need look no farther than across town, where the Washington Wizards changed their name after the former nickname, the Bullets, was considered too violent.

However, getting the Redskins to change their name might be a dogfight.

Lincoln Arneal is the sports editor for the Columbus Telegram. Contact him at larneal@columbustelegram.com with questions, comments, story ideas and strategies while playing Go Fish.