FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Jana Kooren, 651.485.5925 or jkooren@aclu-mn.org
The following can be attributed to Charles Samuelson, Executive Director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota
"The ACLU of Minnesota encourages all parties involved in the upcoming Vikings/Washington Redskins game to do the right thing and not call the team by the offensive name Redskins but instead call the team Washington.
The Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, the media and the Vikings team should all make a pledge to not use the name Redskins, and instead refer to the team simply as Washington.
The name, logo and mascot are racist imagery that does not honor anyone, but instead perpetuate stereotypes that are particularly hurtful and offensive given the history of forced assimilation and brutality that Native Americans were forced to endure in Minnesota and throughout the country
In the 1980s the ACLU-MN helped draft policy that required all school districts in Minnesota with Native American nicknames to cease using them, we as a state said it was offensive for our high schools to use those names and the same principle should be extended to professional sports teams."