Lions fans tuned to WXYT (97.1) for pregame talk on Thanksgiving will hear a "Change the Mascot" ad aimed at the Washington Redskins.
"The campaign calls upon the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell to do the right thing and bring an end the use of the racial epithet," explains a website set up by the Oneida Indian Nation, based in New York. It's also airing the one-minute radio commercial Thursday on a Baltimore sports station.
Here's part of what a tribe member says in the holiday-theme spot, to be broadcast before the 12:30 p.m. Ford Field game between the Lions and Packers:
“Thanksgiving is a holiday emphasizing the ideals of inclusion and mutual respect, and is a time when we give thanks. We would like to express our appreciation to everyone who has spoken out about the important moral and civil rights issue of changing the Washington football team’s name. . . .
"No group deserves to be treated as the target of a hurtful racial slur."
The full ad can be heard here.
"Previous ads have run in the nation’s capital and other cities where the D.C. team has played road games, and will continue throughout the remainder of the NFL season," the Oneidas say in a Tuesday news release that uses "the R-word" in reference to the objectionable name.
Art Monk and Darrell Green, who played for the Redskins and are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, have said the team should consider a name change, Sports Illustrated says Tuesday in an article on the radio ad.
Monk said that if members of the tribe feel that the name is offensive, those who are not part of the tribe have no grounds on which to say it is not offensive.
-- Alan Stamm
