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Non-NFL Redskins sports teams


Non-NFL teams with the name Redskins, mostly High Schools, have received attention due to the media coverage of the Washington Redskins name controversy, in particular three which have a majority of Native American students. Advocates for the name conclude that because some Native Americans use the name to refer to themselves, it is not insulting. However, the principal of one of these, Red Mesa High School in Teec Nos Pos, Arizona, said that use of the word outside American Indian communities should be avoided because it could perpetuate "the legacy of negativity that the term has created." Wellpinit High School on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington wants nothing to do with the national controversy, seeing Redskins as the traditional name they have used for their team. However, they do not accept being used as a justification for anyone else using the name.

As of early 2013, the Capitol News Service in Maryland listed twenty-eight high schools in 18 states that had dropped the "redskins" name during the prior 25 years as a result of a combination of state legal action, protests from Native American groups, or voluntarily; while 62 were listed as continuing to use the redskins name. Since that list was compiled, an additional thirteen high school teams (cited below) no longer use the name, including four effected by a California law signed on October 11, 2015 requiring new names by January 1, 2017. This leaves the total at 49 high schools.

The college teams using the name changed voluntarily, the University of Utah became Utah Utes in 1972, Miami University of Ohio became the RedHawks in 1997 and the Southern Nazarene University became the Crimson Storm in 1998.

On its official website in early 2013, the Washington Redskins posted articles referring to high school teams using the same name (and often the same logo). The athletic director of Coshocton High School in Coshocton, Ohio is quoted as saying, "We are very proud of our athletic teams and very proud to be called Redskins!" The principal of McLoud High School in McLoud, Oklahoma says that not only students, but the local Native American population takes pride in the name. The coach at Lamar High School in Houston, Texas says, "Our school is 75 years old and there's a lot of pride in it," he explained. "I think it's a great mascot, as all of the traits of a Redskins warrior are something to be admired."


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