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WaPo Blog: How the 'Redskins' became the 'RedHawks'
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Filed Under: Sports


"I briefly mentioned yesterday how the Miami University (of Ohio) RedHawks would be coming to D.C. next week for the Frozen Four. This prompted a few e-mails from proud RedHawks, one of whom signed his message "Redskins Forever."

Because I'm stupid, I sat here for a couple seconds trying to think of the connection between the 'Skins and the RedHawks, before I remembered that, oh yes, more than a decade ago the RedHawks were the Redskins, before the original nickname became caught up in the NCAA mascot wars. This was, as you'd expect, a hugely controversial and contentious process, with "the RedHawks" eventually being chosen over "the Miamis" and "the ThunderHawks" after the Board of Trustees voted to drop a nickname that had been used for nearly 70 years.

t's an issue people disagree on in every corner of the country. The Miami switch prompted "Redskins forever; RedHawks never" t-shirts and bumper stickers, threats to withhold donations, student protests and everything else you'd expect, and the outrage continued for years. Just last December, Colusa (Calif.) High changed its teams' mascots from Redskins to RedHawks, which was chosen over RiverHawks and Cougars in another contentious debate."

Get the Story:
DC Sports Blog by Dan Steinberg: When the Redskins Became the RedHawks (The Washington Post 4/1)

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