On Monday morning, amidst a flurry of sports news from a packed weekend, the Washington Football Team publicly released a statement. The Washington Football Team has spent a year mulling over what their next name will be. The franchise made one thing very clear: They will no longer tie their name to Native American imagery. This includes what has become a fan-favorite: Warriors. After seeing the burgundy and gold “W,” “Warriors” felt like a great transition. It is a brave, battle-tested mascot that inspires victory. It even reminds fans of the recent NBA dynasty; the Golden State Warriors.
Our journey to a new identity continues, but one thing is clear:
— Washington Football Team (@WashingtonNFL) July 12, 2021
Moving forward with no ties to Native American imagery is the right path.
» https://t.co/zTSw0JhVeU pic.twitter.com/JrcovrKRYn
But Team President Jason Wright outlined it very simply: “Feedback from across communities we engaged clearly revealed deep-seated discomfort around Warriors, with the clear acknowledgment that it too closely aligns with Native American themes. Such an embrace of potentially Native-adjacent iconography and imagery would not represent a clear departure that many communities have so forcefully advocated for us to embrace, and that frankly, we set out to do when we started this process a year ago.”
This is a strong move from the Washington Football Team and a powerfully simple statement from President Wright. But if “Warriors” are racially charged mascots, what’s that mean for the NBA Franchise of the same name?
Here at Belly Up Sports, we have taken deep dives into problematic mascots in the past. We looked at mascots with serious issues, like “Ole Miss,” The UNLV Rebels, and even the Washington Racial Slurs before they made the commitment to changing their name. (We also looked at sillier ones, like the NBA G League’s Birmingham Bayhawks.) But the Golden State Warriors function in a weird space when looking at controversial mascots.
History of The Dubs
The Philadelphia Warriors moved to San Francisco in 1962, taking Hall of Fame Center Wilt Chamberlain with them. As the franchise bounced around the Bay Area, it changed its location from San Francisco to Golden State in 1971. Since moving west, the Dubs have seen success as far back as Chamberlain, Rick Barry and Nate Thurmond after him, through the Chris Mullin “Run TMC” era, and as recently as Steph Curry and Kevin Durant dominating half a decade of basketball.
Amongst all of the team’s travel and all of the revolving door of Hall of Fame talent, Golden State has kept the same name with which they began the franchise in 1947. Golden State used Native American imagery in their logo from 1947 to 1969 before shifting to their “The City” logo. While the logo changed and moved significantly away from any Native American imagery, the name never did.
Though the fans began referring to the team as “The Dubs” in the early 1990s. Later, the Warriors shifted to orange and navy coloring with a more ambiguous mascot. From 1997 – 2009, the Warriors were symbolized by a glorified and very intimidating smurf… Or whatever the mascot “Thunder” was supposed to be. There is a small, orange face and head covering that flows off the back of the head of the person in the logo, but it isn’t discernably a headdress (or anything, for that matter). In 2010, a year into the Steph Curry era, the Golden State logo was reverted to an old school circular logo much like The City. Instead, it said “Golden State Warriors” around the circular shot of half of the bridge. With a handful of alternates and throwbacks, this logo has been the visible image the team has used.
Being “The Dubs”
For decades the Golden State argument was that, once the imagery was removed, the word “warrior” in and of itself doesn’t carry any connotations. If anything, it’s the same innocent “battle-ready” bravado many sports teams make of their own name, logo, or nickname. Lots of teams talk about playing sports as if they were warriors heading off to battle, so why couldn’t that be a mascot?
Presently, even when looking for retro memorabilia, throwback logos on merchandise begin with The City logo. Apparently, the franchise and the brands that support it have dropped the first twenty years from the lexicon.
If there were any indication that Golden State, or their fans, somehow didn’t know their name was problematic, Carmelo Anthony helped remind them. Amidst the chaos of the Washington Football team changing its name, Anthony asked all teams with Native American-related names to change.
We are not equal until all our communities are equal. In support of our Native American communities, the use of Native mascot names needs to end. @Redskins @NFL #TheTimeIsNow pic.twitter.com/3ZSmNhCZFa
— Carmelo Anthony (@carmeloanthony) July 8, 2020
Days later, the Washington Racial Slurs were beginning the process of changing their own name. The Golden State Warriors filed a new trademark on “Warriors” with that happening on the East Coast. Knowing the Washington Football Team could be heading in that direction, Dubnation wanted to preserve their name. Anthony called on teams to change their names and Golden State decided to double down on theirs.
This week, President Wright of the Washington Football Team reminds us all of the meaning behind “The Warriors.” “Washington Warriors” could have had great branding and it offers great alliteration. However, President Wright and the franchise decided it’s too closely connected with the ugly history they are choosing to move away from.
If it’s too closely aligned with Indigenous imagery for an NFL team, why isn’t it too closely aligned for one in the NBA?
Why’s it Matter?
Yes; unless the vague smurf-like blue warrior from 1997-2009 had some tie to Indigenous ancestry, the Golden State Warriors have been without an insensitive logo since 1969. Yes, colloquially the franchise goes by “GSW,” “Golden State,” and “The Dubs” far more often than “The Warriors.” And yes, the focus of almost every marketing campaign is far more focused on the city of San Francisco, the Bay Area, and northern California. But Golden State’s mascot does indeed matter. And sure- the word “Warriors” isn’t as clearly offensive as the Washington Football Team’s previous name, or as Chief Wahoo and the Cleveland Indians, or even the Kansas City Chiefs. But Washington is changing their team name and carefully picking out the next one. Cleveland is changing their baseball team’s name at the end of the season. The time for Golden State is now.
“Warriors” are a very common mascot in the American sports lexicon. Whether it’s the University of Hawai’i or your local high school, many teams use this idea of a triumphant warrior for their mascot without really thinking about what that mascot is. The Golden State Warriors have to change before any of those schools or teams do. Otherwise, they’ll always be able to point to the Franchise of the Decade as the excuse. Further, the Golden State Warriors don’t use the traditional “Warrior” branding in their imagery. Making this change for that franchise would be easier because it’s just changing the word below the bridge.
As other franchises begin to join the 21st century and leave racially charged team names in the past, it’s time for Golden State to join in. The Washington Football Team directly pointed out the issue of being “The Warriors” in his press release about avoiding Native American imagery, so why give the basketball team a pass?
1 Comment
As an editor, translator and publisher of poems about the Trail of Tears, I agree.