The team has long been criticized over its insensitive name.
AS A LONG TIME FAN, I AGREE, MAYBE CALL YOURSELVES GREEN N GOLD AFTER ALL YOU ORIGINATED OUT OF THE U OF A
AND BESIDES OTTAWA IS A FLANNEL TEAM CALLED THE RED BLACKS.
FINALLY THIS SHOULD NOT BE TOO HARD TO UNDERSTAND SINCE THE EE, ANOTHER POSSIBLE NAME, HIRED THE FIRST BLACK QUARTERBACK TO PLAY PRO FOOTBALL, WARREN MOON, WHOM THE RACIST NFL REJECTED.
By Al Donato 06/03/2020 HUFF POST
THE CANADIAN PRESS Quarterback Trevor Harris, seen here at a 2019 game with the Hamilton Tiger Cats, is part of the Edmonton-based Canadian Football League (CFL) team that's been long-criticized over its insensitive name.
Edmonton’s professional football team is getting ridiculed for claiming to support Black Lives Matter, while still going by a name offensive to Inuit people.
The CFL’s Edmonton Eskimos are among many sports teams who lit up their social media accounts with statements of solidarity with Black communities protesting police brutality. But they’re also among the same teams with names based on Indigenous stereotypes, bringing criticism of poor allyship.
“We seek to understand what it must feel like to live in fear going birding, jogging, or even relaxing in the comfort of your home,” the first statement from the Edmonton team starts, referencing recent examples of Black Americans being intimidated or murdered, while going about their daily lives. It concludes with an expression of solidarity: “We stand with those who are outraged, who are hurt and who hope for a better tomorrow.”
THE CANADIAN PRESS Quarterback Trevor Harris, seen here at a 2019 game with the Hamilton Tiger Cats, is part of the Edmonton-based Canadian Football League (CFL) team that's been long-criticized over its insensitive name.
Edmonton’s professional football team is getting ridiculed for claiming to support Black Lives Matter, while still going by a name offensive to Inuit people.
The CFL’s Edmonton Eskimos are among many sports teams who lit up their social media accounts with statements of solidarity with Black communities protesting police brutality. But they’re also among the same teams with names based on Indigenous stereotypes, bringing criticism of poor allyship.
“We seek to understand what it must feel like to live in fear going birding, jogging, or even relaxing in the comfort of your home,” the first statement from the Edmonton team starts, referencing recent examples of Black Americans being intimidated or murdered, while going about their daily lives. It concludes with an expression of solidarity: “We stand with those who are outraged, who are hurt and who hope for a better tomorrow.”
The post was followed by a black square and the hashtag ”#blackouttuesday,” a well-intentioned campaign to support Black musicians that’s been criticized for taking space away from useful resources.
Anger over the statement was swift and reignited years-long calls for a name change, with Canadian singer and actor Jann Arden joining the fray.
Change your name. That’s a start. I made a terrible mistake a few years ago- using this derogatory word in what I thought was a harmless, non offinsive way- I WAS WRONG. Be better. https://t.co/1Om2RqSXBQ— jann arden (@jannarden) June 1, 2020
Wow the audacity to put out a statement like this. Change your name!!!!! #edmontoneskimos https://t.co/62P8K4aLYh— Nadine Pinto (@nadine_pinto) June 1, 2020
The hypocrisy would be hilarious if it wasn’t so harmful and dangerous. Change your name. There is no excuse.— mood-eye maddy 👀 (@abermaddy) May 31, 2020
Change your name. The name undervalues people. People feel used. People feel persecuted. People relive it on social media like this post.
Your very name does this every. single. day.— Andrea K (@andreabridgeway) June 1, 2020
Indigenous notables added nuance to the conversation, including Nunavut NDP MP Mumilaaq Qaqqaq and Inuk singer Tanya Tagaq.
The injustices for individuals that are racialized is horrible. I stand with our black friends across the boarder. If you really “seek to understand” start by changing your team name. Stop feeding into stereotypes and offensive names. We are NOT a mascot. - Nunavut’s Inuk MP— Mumilaaq (@MumilaaqQaqqaq) June 1, 2020
In 2017, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had weighed in on this longstanding issue at a press conference, when he said that talks about a name change were needed on a local level.
“This is a discussion and a reflection that the city of Edmonton certainly needs to undertake,” he said. “Reconciliation is not just about Indigenous people and the government. It’s about all of us as Canadians, non-Indigenous as well.”
The Edmonton team decided not to change their name earlier this year after consulting Inuit leaders, the Toronto Star reported. But, as a Nunatsiaq News op-ed by Inuk politician Natan Obed highlighted, the lack of consensus within communities doesn’t erase the hurt felt by Inuit people who see the name as derogatory.
THEY ARE A COMMUNITY OWNED TEAM BUT THE FANS AND COMMUNITY WERE NOT CONSULTED, THE FAMILY COMPACT THAT RUNS THE ESKIMOS ORG
Other sports teams that use Indigenous caricatures have faced similar backlash this week. U.S. congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez lambasted the Washington NFL team for their attempt at racial sensitivity.
Want to really stand for racial justice? Change your name. https://t.co/XTlIJrfNx4— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 2, 2020
Posts by the baseball teams in Atlanta, Cleveland and Kansas City have resulted in similar feedback, during this time of turmoil over anti-Black injustice.
The Washington Redskins, Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves, Edmonton Eskimos, Chicago Blackhawks, and Kansas City Chiefs can all fuck right off with their performative blackouts unless they're going to change their names and racist imagery. #BlackOutTuesday— جيل تيلي (@jilly_tilley) June 3, 2020
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