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Kansas City’s NFL team either goes to the Super Bowl or plays its final game of the year on Sunday. The team has weathered sustained pressure that has seen other sports teams, like the Cleveland Guardians and the Washington Commanders, change their names and mascots. Activists have gone so far as to publicly appeal to Taylor Swift, girlfriend of Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce, to speak out against the controversial “tomahawk chop” performed by fans. We’ll assess the wins and … lack of wins … in the ongoing awareness campaign for respectful names and mascots.
GUESTS
Rhonda LeValdo (Acoma Pueblo), founder of Not In Our Honor
Laurel Davis-Delano, professor of sociology at Springfield College
Peggy Larney (Choctaw), founder of the American Indian Heritage Day state law in Texas
Break 1 Music: I’m Not a Mascot, I’m Not a Stereotype, I’ve Been Watching… (song) Michael Bucher (artist)
Break 2 Music: Ancestor Song (song) Various Artists (artist) Chumash Story and Song Collection (album)
It is time to change that name!!!!!!!!!!! There are plenty of other names they can change too!!! Then I wonder how much of a racist is the owner of this time!!! Bigger picture how racist is the N.F. L..!!!
No, it is not. It is ridiculous to cry racist over a team name “Chiefs” – a generic eurpoean word with a positive connotation.
Kansas Citys problematic football team name runs deeper than a mere mascot/name. The Chiefs were named after “chief” H R Bartle, former mayor, business man and huge proponent of boy scouts in the KC metro area. He is also the namesake of H R Bartle scout reservation in Osceola, MO. He was also the founder of the “mic-o-say tribe” in boy scouts. Bartles legacy is built into the history and culture of the KC metro and removing the team name requires a lot of soul searching and courage within the community to move on from the past.
This is OUTRAGEOUS! Rhonda once again lies, projects, spews half truths. The Chiefs are incredibly popular on our reservation, have been in communication with them for over a decade. Also, since when does “Chief” really offend? How is that even OUR term to claim ownership over. It’s a european word. Good news for us and Chiefs fans, they don’t take her seriously. And the opposition on twitter is far more than reality.
Go Chiefs.