Stereotypes In Sports Mascots

Words: 661
Pages: 3

Some say that humans represented as sports mascots are to honor the Native American tribes the teams are named after, while others, including this fellow American, say that it creates a negative image on sports. Indigenous people in America should not be represented as sports mascots, such as Chief Wahoo, the Atlanta Braves and NFL team in Washington D.C. because these representations are based on racist stereotypes and are very offensive. American sports have a love affair with racist images as mascots, but what many don’t know is that there are histories of violence, cultural stereotypes and discrimination.
First of all, the mascots are racist stereotypes. Their logos are all very stereotypical and offensive. Many of these logos are caricatures which just makes the situation even worse. This is trying to make fun of them and their image. Native American do not look like these racial stereotypes many think of as a “typical indian”. For example the Washington Redskins’ logo is of a red skinned indian with a braid and 2 feathers sticking out of his hair. Not only is this logo inaccurate and stereotypical, the term redskin is actually a racial slur that is just as bad as the
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Well, guess again. Like the trail of tears example, do my fellow Americans think these native Americans felt honored? Nope. Names like Redskin, Chiefs, Braves, etc. are not honoring them. Them are racial slurs, denigrating stereotypes, and bad representations of actual Native Americans. Does it even matter what sports fans and spectators think? If Native Americans say and think that it is not an honor, then guess what: IT’S NOT AN HONOR!!!!!!!! To actual honor the Native Americans, spend time with the native people. Go to where the Natives live and open your heart to their stories and who the Native Americans actually are. To honor does not mean to use stereotypical images to “respect?”