Can you spot what’s troubling, alarming, ominous, about the photo above?
Feathers!
That’s Washington Commanders (Shhhhh: they used to be called “the Redskins”) coach Dan Quinn above wearing a T-shirt depicting two feathers hanging off the Commanders’ “W” logo. The New York Times instantly did its best Donald Sutherland (in the “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” finale, when the protagonist of the movie has been revealed as completely pod-ified) imitation….
…with a story headlined, “Dan Quinn dons unsanctioned Commanders shirt as future of team’s stadium discussed on Capitol Hill.” Playing the part of co-opted Donald was Times sportswriter Ben Standig, who blew the metaphorical whistle on Twtter/”X” writing, “So, the shirt. This is not a team-sanctioned item. Not sure if Quinn got this at an Etsy shop or elsewhere. Do your thing, Twitter.”
You know: cancel him, shun him, brand him a racist, get him fired.
Oooh, “unsanctioned”! How long before all of us will need permission from our enlightened, woke and empowered censors before our shirts can be safely purchased and worn without dire social consequences?
Standig got right on the scandal of the Commanders’s coach daring to wear a shirt that evoked his team’s previous nickname, which was finally changed when—you should be able to recite this by now—-“a lifetime black petty criminal overdosing on fentanyl and resisting a lawful arrest died under the knee of a bad white cop in Minnesota.” This incident obviously mandated that an NFL team in Washington D.C. capitulate to long-standing contrived protests over a team name (that was never intended as a slur nor taken as one by the vast majority of Native Americans) and a now-banned team logo designed by a prominent leader of Montana’s Blackfeet tribe.
I live in the Washington, D.C. area. Literally nobody likes the politically correct, “inoffensive” name “Commanders” except the non-football fan activists who demonstrated their power by forcing the team to change it. It’s like a scalp hanging from their belts.
In related news, Rhode Island has announced that it will join 11 other states and require all lawyers must submit to DEI indoctrination—sorry, training—in order to maintain their law licenses.
Resistance is futile.
And, may I note with pride, where else on the World Wide Web will an NFL coach’s choice of attire evoke pop culture references to “Apocalypse Now,” “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” and “Star Trek: The Next Generation”?
Ethics Alarms 
if you want to really buy some shirts that will shock, go here:
http://www.belleandblade.com
Well, “unsanctioned” does mean that the team doesn’t get a cut of the profits from the use of the team name and what one would presume are copyrighted or trademarked images. Yes, it happens all the time, but the team (as opposed to the PC brigade) has a right to expect their coach, of all people, to respect their property rights.
add to that the fact that the NFL controls everything about its image (right down to the brand of practice shoes allowed on the field) it would not surprise me if he get sanctioned for wearing unsanctioned apparel. I mean if every coach did the, the NFL would probably lose money.
-Jut
“it would not surprise me if he get sanctioned for wearing unsanctioned apparel.”
Recall the Jim McMahon incident
Wait: if someone gives him a shirt, he’s supposed to contact a trademark attorney before he wears it? I’m pretty sure the W with feathers is fair use no matter how you cut it: it’s a commentary, not infringement, You know, like the soup can.
I’m also pretty sure the writer wasn’t calling on all those intellectual property law attorneys on “X” to give him whatfor.
He had to know that the shirt was unsanctioned, and he’s standing behind a microphone. In other words, he’s acting in an official capacity, making a statement, giving a press conference, whatever. No one cares what he wears when he takes the family to the Olive Garden, but the team ownership and management could reasonably expect him to wear appropriate (i.e., sanctioned) garb when representing the team in public.
The fact that Don Standig is an asshat and probably an idiot doesn’t mean that Dan Quinn didn’t screw up.
Personally I rather enjoyed it when they were the “Washington Football Team”.
As a nickname that was essentially giving the finger to the NFL for forcing that change. Sadly it wasn’t permanent.
I agree. It was certainly better than the punt “Commanders.”
Well, at least twitter is doing its thing to say, we don’t care.
Minor point, but its Ben Standig (unless he goes by Don, then ignore it).
It’s Ben. I have no idea why I typed Don.
Dan Snyder on the brain.
I read the Legal insurrection article on the CE requirement relating to DEI. It just says area. Why not develop a course on how to fight DEI mandates. That would still be in the “area” of DEI instruction.
Fight fire with fire. Or, when ambiguity in language exists use it to your own benefit
Re: DEI CLE for attorneys. Iâm so glad Iâm retired!
https://www.jamesgmartin.center/2023/02/wokeness-is-creeping-into-continuing-legal-education/
[AdobeStock_170110000-scaled.jpeg]
Wokeness Is Creeping into Continuing Legal Education â The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewalhttps://www.jamesgmartin.center/2023/02/wokeness-is-creeping-into-continuing-legal-education/
jamesgmartin.centerhttps://www.jamesgmartin.center/2023/02/wokeness-is-creeping-into-continuing-legal-education/
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Isn’t “Commanders” white supremacist? Redolent of “Master and Commander?” We can’t even call a bedroom a master bedroom anymore. Isn’t the concept of someone being placed in a position to impose their will on a subordinate incredibly and inherently racist? Isn’t the concept of a hierarchical organization nothing more than a longstanding construct, a SYSTEM, no less, to oppress people of color? And didn’t Biden name one of his abused dogs something martial like Commander? And isn’t this head coach white? No one’s complaining about that when the vast majority of NFL players are of color? I mean sure, the feather things is awful, but aren’t we missing the point? This guy shouldn’t even be a head coach. And isn’t the notion of a “head coach” white supremacist? Why should players of color be placed under the oppression of any authority figure? Given America’s history of slavery that’s been passed on to every person of color, that’s triggering. And isn’t football all about forcefully seizing the real property of a noble indigenous culture? Invading territory? It’s settler colonialism writ large. And celebrated by wealthy white people in the stands…
I could go on forever.
DC has this problem. When the NBA Bullets moved from Baltimore and everyone said the name in DC evoked the city’s shooting problems and had negative racial connotations, it was changed to “Wizards.”
No racial connotations there!
And then there’s the Caps! Isn’t “cap a guy” mob for “assassinate a guy?” Hah!