Maryland’s Republican Gov. Larry Hogan has flip-flopped his stance on the Washington Redskins, saying he now believes the name is “hurtful” to people and that it’s “probably right” for it to be changed.
“I’m glad that they’re having that discussion,” Hogan said, referencing reports that the football team is reviewing the name in light of recent national outrage over perceived racism. “I believe that the name will be changed. I think, look, I grew up in the Washington area as a Redskin fan. It’s got a lot of history associated with the name. But I understand it’s a hurtful name, and in today’s context, it probably should be changed.”
It’s an interesting take – and not just because Hogan’s got a well-documented history of supporting the name. The Redskins have played at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland since 1997.
That’s 23 years, for those of you who don’t do math. Twenty-three years that happen to include the entire 5-year duration of Hogan’s tenure as governor, during which he could have pressured the team to change the apparently offensive name at any point.
But he didn’t – until the nation exploded with protests, riots and calls to “cancel” just about anything – including mundane words – that could possibly be linked in any way, shape or form to slavery or racism. (Protests that began, by the way, with the death of a black man at the hands of a white police officer, and which had nothing to do at all with Native Americans.)
Seems an awfully convenient time for one to jump on the anti-Redskins bandwagon. Which, I'm sure, has absolutely nothing at all to do with rumors of a 2024 presidential run.