12/21/24
February 09, 2016
Texans Owner Robert McNair: Cherokees Can't Hold Their Whiskey: An NFL owner who defended Washington's use of the offensive mascot "Redskins" then told an interviewer that he grew up among Cherokee Indians and they had drinking problems. "Everybody respected their courage," said Houston Texans owner Robert McNair. "They might not have respected the way they held their whiskey, but ..." McNair laughed and added, "We respected their courage. They’re very brave people."
If anything, you'd think that the owners would vote for the name change just so they could remove this ticking time bomb from their midst. As long as that offensive name is around for people to ask them questions, there remains a distinct chance that any one of them will say something stupid about it face the (appropriate) heat for their remarks.
Once the team becomes "Washington Warriors" or "Washington Americans" or "Washington Whatevers", then they'll never have to talk about "those people" again.
posted by grum@work at 03:33 PM on February 09, 2016
Fuuuck.
Seriously, do none of these people employ PR professionals who can tell them "You will gain zero by saying anything on this issue. Just smile and nod and change the subject."?
posted by Etrigan at 08:04 PM on February 09, 2016
Congrats to McNair, who is capable of being an asshole while stone sober. Love what prompted the response from him: "[H]e was distraught over how much swearing there was [on Hard Knocks] and joked that Coach Bill O'Brien should introduce a cuss jar. I asked McNair if he was as sensitive to other offensive language, specifically the N.F.L. team in the nation's capital's being named the Redskins."
posted by yerfatma at 08:32 AM on February 10, 2016
posted by beaverboard at 10:12 AM on February 10, 2016
I feel like Bill Burr's take on these incidents is a relevant one (and hilarious).
posted by hincandenza at 02:27 PM on February 10, 2016
"Old, Rich, White Guy Says Something Insensitive" is the new "Dog Bites Man" headline.