The Edmonton Football Club Board of Governors and its new president have opened a can of worms, and now they have to eat it..By electing to drop the name ‘Eskimos’, the governing body of the football team sent their strongest possible virtue signal that that are in touch with woke culture. They are all too aware of the past, but they would appear to be asleep at the wheel when it comes to the future..The seven names that are going forward for consideration include the: Elk, Elkhounds, Evergolds, Evergreens, Eclipse, Eagles and Elements. Riveting stuff..The Washington Football Club dropped their longstanding nickname of “Redskins” a year ago and went without a lame replacement moniker. It worked well. The NFL – with its limitless marketing power – found a way to proceed and it was good enough..The CFL is not in the same league. Heck I’m not even sure the CFL will be back on the field in the long run. .Sure, teams are signing and re-signing players for an anticipated season, but the CFL is a fan-driven league. So much so, that anything less than about 60 percent capacity at stadiums won’t work. With the way governments are handling the COVID-19 dilemma, it’s not a good bet..How important is renaming the Edmonton Football Club? It’s not. The woke crowd do not watch football in significant numbers. The people who actually watch the Eskimos, don’t see much wrong with the name..The whole process is a shambolic embarrassment. .Of course, some were offended with the Eskimos name. A friend of mine who has spent four decades in the Edmonton Sports Media told me two years ago that the team asked those who actually matter in this conversation. That is, Canadians of northern indigenous heritage. According to him, the vast majority had no problem with it..Consultations about the name to date have only been able to turn up woke white liberals offended on their behalf..It all comes back to this new Board of Governors. The board showed the same weakness that has permeated not just sport, but academia, the media, the political class, and entertainment..The big question is if the creep of radical political correctness will be satisfied with their victory over the Eskimos. Not likely..Roger Millions is the Sports Columnist for the Western Standard
The Edmonton Football Club Board of Governors and its new president have opened a can of worms, and now they have to eat it..By electing to drop the name ‘Eskimos’, the governing body of the football team sent their strongest possible virtue signal that that are in touch with woke culture. They are all too aware of the past, but they would appear to be asleep at the wheel when it comes to the future..The seven names that are going forward for consideration include the: Elk, Elkhounds, Evergolds, Evergreens, Eclipse, Eagles and Elements. Riveting stuff..The Washington Football Club dropped their longstanding nickname of “Redskins” a year ago and went without a lame replacement moniker. It worked well. The NFL – with its limitless marketing power – found a way to proceed and it was good enough..The CFL is not in the same league. Heck I’m not even sure the CFL will be back on the field in the long run. .Sure, teams are signing and re-signing players for an anticipated season, but the CFL is a fan-driven league. So much so, that anything less than about 60 percent capacity at stadiums won’t work. With the way governments are handling the COVID-19 dilemma, it’s not a good bet..How important is renaming the Edmonton Football Club? It’s not. The woke crowd do not watch football in significant numbers. The people who actually watch the Eskimos, don’t see much wrong with the name..The whole process is a shambolic embarrassment. .Of course, some were offended with the Eskimos name. A friend of mine who has spent four decades in the Edmonton Sports Media told me two years ago that the team asked those who actually matter in this conversation. That is, Canadians of northern indigenous heritage. According to him, the vast majority had no problem with it..Consultations about the name to date have only been able to turn up woke white liberals offended on their behalf..It all comes back to this new Board of Governors. The board showed the same weakness that has permeated not just sport, but academia, the media, the political class, and entertainment..The big question is if the creep of radical political correctness will be satisfied with their victory over the Eskimos. Not likely..Roger Millions is the Sports Columnist for the Western Standard
