What’s in a Name?

I’m throwing in for the Change the Mascot cause, because it is the right thing to do. It’s not about political correctness, or team history, or anything else people have thrown out as excuses. It’s about not being an asshole. It’s basically the absolute bare minimum our society can do.

Luckily, this video presents a far greater argument than I ever could (h/t PZ Myers):

Another thing: In 1997, Abe Pollin made the decision to change the name of Washington’s NBA team almost unilaterally, and the city survived, so don’t give us any crap about history or tradition, please. Pollin himself explained:

Believe me when I say it was not an easy decision [to change the team’s name]. I won a World Championship under the name Bullets. However, too often during the mid to late ‘90s, I would hear the word “bullets” associated with guns and violence instead of my basketball team. While the name was longstanding, I finally reached a point that I was simply tired of the association between the two. Then, my good friend, Prime Minister Rabin was assassinated in Israel. That was the final straw. It was time to change names. With regard to the name “Wizards,” we held a three-tiered contest to determine a new name. The name “Wizards” was selected by the fans and has adorned our uniforms since that time.

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