Washington Post’s Editorial Board Bans Use of ‘Redskins’
The Washington Post’s editorial board has decided to stop printing the word Redskins when referring to the Washington NFL team. However, the board’s Executive Editor Martin Baron said the paper’s news division will still use the name.
“The Post’s newsroom and the editorial page operate independently of each other,” Baron told The Post. “Standard operating policy in the newsroom has been to use the names that established institutions choose for themselves. That remains our policy, as we continue to vigorously cover controversy over the team’s name and avoid any advocacy role on this subject.”
A list of media organizations compiled byPoynter which include, Mother Jones, The Seattle Times, Slate, The Oregonian, Orange County Register, The New Republic, as well as many more news publishers, commentators and columnists, have previously banned using Redskins.
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Team owner Dan Snyder was notified of the decision on Friday. Team spokesman Tony Wyllie told The Post that there was “no surprise” in the editorial board’s decision as the newspaper has defended the name for 30 years.
Ray Halbritter, Oneida Indian Nation and CEO, and Jacqueline Pata, executive director of the National Congress of American Indians, said that the board’s new policy was “appropriate and honorable.”
“Media outlets must decide which side they are on,” they said. “Are they going to continue promoting a racial slur or are they going to stand on the right side of history?”
