President Barack Obama spoke against all Native American sports mascots on Thursday during the White House Tribal Nations Conference.
Obama said it’s important to “break stereotypes, I believe that includes our sports teams,” per Jordan Fabian of The Hill.
The President further elaborated on this sentiment.
“If you’re living in a society that devalues your culture or perpetuates stereotypes, you may be devaluing yourself,” Obama added. “We all need to do more to ensure that our young people feel supported and respected.”
He also made reference to “a certain NFL team in Washington” that might want to take sporting apparel giant Adidas up on its initiative to “help schools change Native American names and mascots by offering to design new logos and paying for part of the cost of new uniforms.”
What Adidas is doing is remarkable and timely for this nation.
There is a portion of society that still clings to mascot names we shall not print, like the one featured on the NFL team in Washington. However, many others are sick and tired of the idea that it is acceptable to alienate and offend another group of society.
Thankfully we have a President who isn’t afraid to stand up for those who stand on the side of respect.