Some Washington Redskins fans claim they’d still support their team if it changed its racist name. Others are adamant that owner Dan Snyder should stick to his guns, and have even threatened to boycott the team if it ever rebrands. How would fans react if they thought the Redskins were about to change their name to the less loaded, more dignified “Redhawks?” We found out Wednesday, thanks to a prank by Native American protesters.
A fake Redhawks website and a mock Sports Illustrated article announced the name change, and they quickly went viral in the way that much fake news does these days. It’s easy to miss the difference between the real SI.com and the bogus SportsIllustrated.news if you’re not looking carefully. There were fake Bleacher Report and ESPN articles, too. The elaborate “culture jam” fooled many.
How did fans take the alleged name change? Some were relieved, and said it made them realize how easy it would be to let “Redskins” go.
This debacle made me realize that I desperately want the @Redskins to change their name. I actually liked Redhawks and I loved the logo. As a progressive, likely the most hypocritical aspect of my life is my fandom for this stupid terrible team with its racist name. https://t.co/FSpEA8yGmi
— Sarah Davis 🤫 Bubba EXtREMiSt & 23XI stan (@sarahdavisagain) December 13, 2017
Yessssss, Washington Redhawks!!! I honestly never thought that would happen. Now maybe I can be a football fan! (narrator: He wouldn't.)
— several roombas in a trench coat (@NateOBot) December 13, 2017
https://twitter.com/jswk735/status/941032816220893184
https://twitter.com/GangsterSwedish/status/940995800284491777
I'm down to be a RedHawks fan. If it brings a different culture and a chance for a new beginning to a franchise that hasn't surpassed the Wild Card Playoffs in almost two decades, so be it. #HTTRedhawks
— Damian (@dametraining) December 13, 2017
Others … not so much.
Washington changing their name from Redskins to RedHawks is completely stupid. If they changed it because of “Racism” then Cleveland Indians need to change their mascot too cause that boy is about as red as a tomato!
— Terveen (@KingTerveen) December 13, 2017
Growing up I picked one team. If they ceased to be the Washington Redskins they wouldn't be my team anymore. There's a group of people of which I am one who say that if they change it they'd be done with them. I could never be a RedHawks or Warriors fan. I'm a Redskins fan.
— Domenic A. Vadala 🇺🇸 (@DomenicVadala) December 13, 2017
Generations of fans have grown up loving the Washington Redskins. So what do you say to those people (such as I) by saying that the tradition that you knew and loved is being changed or going away? The Redskins have always been about tradition and history.
— Domenic A. Vadala 🇺🇸 (@DomenicVadala) December 13, 2017
https://twitter.com/22CVR_reborn/status/940988172179312641
After letting the hoax run wild for a few hours, the people behind the Redhawks revealed themselves as the Rising Hearts Coalition, a group of Native protestors from several different tribes.
https://twitter.com/redhawksdc/status/941017386651660288
Although Rising Heart received a lot of praise for both the message and the clever execution of the prank, some refused to recognize it as activism, instead calling it “fake news.”
Don't fall for the #fakenews hoax. #Redhawks https://t.co/MUqhWL9gtn
— x – Seán Kinane WMNF (@wmnfnews) December 13, 2017
Beware of the #FakeNews DC sports fans!
Sports Illustrated: https://t.co/2Q2eIgokkE
ESPN: https://t.co/TMXbHEM9Af
Bleacher Report: https://t.co/2D6YsGIZC4— Ryan Patecell (@ryanpatecell) December 13, 2017
https://twitter.com/BraxBrandon/status/941023916427943936
If you were wondering what culture jamming looks like in the era of Trump and “Fake News,” this is it. The same tools conservative click farms and enterprising Macedonian teens use to make money can also be used as a political statement. In the fraught, highly competitive attention economy that social media has created, protestors are going to use all the tools at their disposal. If we’ve learned anything from Trump’s election, it’s that this stuff works.
Will it work on Dan Snyder, though? He’s made it abundantly clear that he wouldn’t care if the majority of his fans wanted to see the name changed, or if the name put a new stadium at risk. But at least it showed current Washington fans that another way forward is possible, and that the world wouldn’t end if they found out their team’s name had changed.