Should The Kansas City Chiefs Change Their Name?
For years, there has been growing pressure from social activists calling for several U.S. sports teams to change their names and rebrand themselves. Among these teams facing pressure is the NFL team, The Kansas City Chiefs – who recently played in the Super Bowl on Sunday.
Why the controversy?
The Kansas City Chiefs have long adopted Native American themes as part of their team brand. What started as a Native American themed logo has transitioned into much more with fans wearing head-dresses and adopting a signature chant known as the ‘Tomahawk Chop’. Many Native Americans have criticized this, deeming it to be appropriation – with Norma Renville, the executive director of Women of Nations Community Advocacy Program and Shelter, even going so far as to call it ‘cultural genocide’ in 2015.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell pledged at the beginning of the 2020 season that measures would be taken to combat the ‘systemic racism’. The Chiefs listened and banned headdresses and warpaint at their Arrowhead Stadium. They also vowed to look into the ‘Tomahawk Chop’ and ways that this could be altered or similarly banned.
Some feel that this is still not enough. Pressure is now being directed not just at the fans’ behaviors, but also at the Chief’s team name itself. But should they really change their name?
Other teams that have made name changes
Recently, other sports teams have been rebranding themselves. For years, Washington’s team – beloved by many fans such as Stephen Troese Jr – have gone by the name the Washington Redskins. Last year, they changed this to Washington Football Team.
Baseball team, The Cleveland Indians, announced in December that they too will be changing their name. It is uncertain as to what they will change their name to, but a favorite at the moment is the ‘Cleveland Spiders’.
This has all put pressure on the Chiefs to do the same.
Should the Chiefs change their name?
The question as to whether the Chiefs’ name is offensive or not is up for debate. Unlike ‘Redskins’ or ‘Indians’, there is nothing overtly racist about the word ‘Chiefs’. The issue comes down to its continued association with Native American culture and the fact that it may continue to spur fans into appropriating Native American customs.
Some fans argue that the name ‘Chiefs’ originally wasn’t anything to do with Native Americans and therefore shouldn’t be branded with this association. The name was originally a reference to white Kansas City mayor Harold Roe Bartle, who was nicknamed ‘Chief’.
Others argue that this shouldn’t matter as the word has lost its original meaning. There are also arguments that Bartle’s nickname was itself a reference to Native American chiefs and so it was bound to develop Native American connotations.
Clearly, the Kansas City Chiefs have a lot to weigh up. But what do you think? Should they change their name? Or have they no reason to rebrand?