Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Spin Control

Seattle Times takes a stand… on Redskins

The Seattle Times will no longer use the name Redskins in referring to the NFL team in that other Washington.

Well, except for the headline on the column by Don Shelton, which says "Why we're banning Redskins at the Seattle Times."

Shelton gives an extensive -- some might say exhaustive -- line of reasoning, quoting some Native American sources on how the turn is as offensive as "the N word" and explaining that the ban doesn't extend to all teams named Tribe or Braves or for Native American tribes or artifacts (like Totems or Tomahawks, which are used by Sammamish and Marysville-Pilchuck, respectively.)

So the ban will apply to the pro team in the nation's capital. And then Wellpinit High School team, which is, interestingly enough, on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Wellpinit has looked at changing the name from time to time, but the community is split and so far they haven't reached a consensus to make the change. 

But according to the Times, they're in the wrong, so don't look for the team name in their prep coverage. 

Not that the Times does a lot of prep coverage in Eastern Washington. But if they do, no Redskins usage.



Jim Camden
Jim Camden joined The Spokesman-Review in 1981 and retired in 2021. He is currently the political and state government correspondent covering Washington state.

Follow Jim online: