Obviously.
NBA Rejects Racism, MLB And NFL Continue Their Silence – Huffington Post
The head of the National Basketball Association is being praised for swiftly acting to ban an NBA team owner for life, after his private conversations were leaked in which he displayed unquestionable racism. That is indeed laudable, but it ignores the institutional racism which is still allowed within the National Football League and Major League Baseball. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid just pointed this out (with regards to the NFL), on the floor of the Senate. But even Reid didn’t go far enough. Consider the following outlandish scenario, if you will: the Clippers are forced to be sold to another owner. This new owner decides that the team name has been tainted beyond all repair, and decides to rename the team. He chooses the name “Blackskins,” and comes up with a logo that closely resembles the Little Black Sambo caricature. What would the public say? Think everyone would agree that this was a good idea?
Personally, I think even suggesting such an outrageous thing would raise an enormous outcry. The question would loudly be asked: “Why replace a racist owner with a racist team name and logo?” After all, could anyone possibly defend the name “Blackskins” or a grinning cartoon of an African-American, in this day and age? Would anyone buy the excuse “we’re celebrating history and heritage” as a valid explanation for such a team name or logo?
Perhaps certain racial minority groups are worthy of respect, and others aren’t. That is the only real explanation of why the above scenario is so far-fetched as to appear ridiculous on first glance — but why we still have a professional football team named the “Redskins” and a logo for a professional baseball team which is obviously comparable to a Little Black Sambo cartoon. How can anyone — Cleveland fan or not — still defend the mascot “Chief Wahoo”?