“Won’t say the ‘R’ word”: When Giants legend Phil Simms got involved in the infamous “nickname” controversy
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Washington Commanders, formerly known as Redskins and Phil Simms
The Washington Commanders had to face a lot of trouble due to their previous name and logo. The team was originally established as Boston Braves in 1932. The name was then changed to Boston Redskins in 1933 and Washington Redskins from 1937-2019. The organization had a lot of heat on them for the term “redskins” in their name.
Various groups and people such as the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) tried for decades to get the name changed. They considered the term “redskins” to be a racial slur, demeaning, offensive, and taboo. Finally, in 2019 the organization was temporarily branded as the Washington Football Team which later changed to the Washington Commanders.
Phil Simms had vowed to stop addressing the team as “redskins”
The term “redskins” had caused a lot of trouble for the team and for some former NFL players as well. Back in 2014, New York Giants QB turned analyst, Phil Simms was instructed to avoid referring to the team as “redskins” while addressing them during the game broadcast. Simms like any other analyst used the term “redskins” because the team was named so. It wasn’t a personal choice and he didn’t mean to insult any community to hurt their sentiments but he did receive heavy backlash for using this slang.
“That’s still my thought process,” Simms said back in 2014 during an interview with Sports Illustrated. “I made that decision and I’m not going into what really drove me to it, but it offends a certain group of people and I have sympathy for them. So I can have sympathy for them and I am not denigrating the other side. Will I refer to their nickname?
Look, I have already done it (Simms used the word “Redskins” a number of times during the Falcons-Bucs game, though said he did not realize it until someone informed him after the game). It is a habit. I played for 15 years [for the Giants] and they were a bitter rival. There is a chance I could slip.”
Back in 2014, a lot of analysts who were former NFL athletes expressed their sentiments regarding the use of “Redskins” during broadcasts. Most of them felt that fans were unnecessarily pressurizing everyone to stop saying “redskins.” Many fans took pride in the name but others were offended and this led to a lot of controversies.
“I don’t want to be overwhelmed by it,” Simms said. “I had bad habits as a player. Bill Parcells used to tell me, ‘You throw a few too many picks, Simms.’ I’d say, ‘Well, Bill, I am going to try to fix that but I will not be fixing that overnight.’ Unfortunately this issue and the nickname, it has been out there for so long and on my radar and I know what I said, but it’s not the easiest habit to break.
So if I refer to them by their nickname, I’m not going to say, ‘Oh, I’m sorry.’ It could happen. In fact, it did slip this year and I did not know it. I had no idea. Now I could refer to the nickname I had for them as a player, but I don’t think that is appropriate for television. I am just going to let it go. Once the game starts, there are a lot of things on my mind I want to talk about it.”
Phil Simms had to bow down and he assured that will avoid saying “redskins” but also added that it might slip out once in a while given his history with the team during his NFL days. Simms spent his entire 15-year career in the league with the New York Giants. He won two Super Bowls for the team, was named the MVP of Super Bowl XXI, was nominated to the Pro Bowl twice, and still holds a number of franchise records within the Giants.
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Yash Karandekar
(1023 Articles Published)