Daniel Snyder Should Change His Team's Name to the Washington Pigskins

The Washington professional football team owned by Daniel Snyder should change its name to the Washington Pigskins. Not just because the name fits the franchise, but because football fans should no longer be forced to say that word. It's long past time for the team to change the name and this is as close to a compromise as Daniel Synder will ever get.

If a team was going to be called the Pigskins, it would be a football team because "pigskin" is a colloquial term for a football. Some might agree that's a better option than a derogatory term for Native Americans. Like those offended by the current team name. In recent years, shows like South Park and The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt took aim at the name controversy. Seriously, how is this still a thing?

Look at the Brooklyn Nets and Oakland Athletics. One is named after a piece of equipment, the other literally people playing sports in general. Then you have the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox. Both named after the color of socks that somebody was wearing the day players showed up for the teams' first games... but not spelled correctly. Finally, you have the Cleveland Browns whose name is just a color, but the team isn't even actually named after the color. If the team's other co-founder had been more vocal, they would be the Cleveland McBrides. And that would still be better than the current name of the Washington professional football team.

The point is, a bunch of sports team names are stupid. Most are just lazily named after animals. The Pigskins will have the advantage of being both, but that's a very good thing compared to the alternative. A common nickname for the team is the 'Skins. By changing the team name to the Pigskins, you still get to call them the 'Skins, plus you don't have to worry about accidentally saying the full name. Which is racist.

Washington even has a connection to pigs - or more accurately, hogs. Back when Washington was good in the 1980s and 1990s they called the offensive line "Hogs." One of the original Hogs, left guard Russ Grimm, was a Hall of Famer. One particular, high-profile group of fans wore old lady dresses and pig snouts to games. They were known as the Hogettes.

This is a relevant name that also pays tribute to the good part of the team's history. Plus, by changing the name and getting a new, socially acceptable logo, you get to sell a ton of merchandise and make a lot of money. I fail to see the problem, unless you're a stubborn billionaire.