NYT op-ed: Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder is an 'Indian giver'

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

NYT op-ed: Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder is an 'Indian giver'
(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

A scathing op-ed in The New York Times alleges that Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder did not found a charity to benefit American Indians for altruistic purposes, but rather to "buy enough good will so the [team] name doesn't seem so bad."

"In his news release and public statements, Mr. Snyder refers to 'our shared Washington Redskins' heritage," David Treuer, an Ojibwe author, writes. "To be clear: There is no 'our' that includes Mr. Snyder."

Snyder last month announced he'd founded the Washington Redskins Original Americans Foundation, ostensibly out of the goodness of his heart and because American Indians "need action, not words." But coming amid a backlash over the team's racist moniker, the move smacked of a PR stunt to tamp down the outrage. Treuer also claims that's Snyder's true motive, adding that the billionaire owner is interested in one thing: money.

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Seldom has the entwined nature of ethics and money and influence been revealed as so unavoidably intestinal in its smell and purpose: to consume the material, to nourish the host and to expel the waste. American Indians — who do not see or refer to ourselves as "redskins" and who take great exception to the slur — are that waste. [New York Times]

Give the whole thing a read here.

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Jon Terbush

Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.