Cork Gaines, November 26, 2013, Business Insider
The NFL is using the month of November to salute members of the military and veterans.
The Washington Redskins decided to use this as an opportunity to honor both the military and Native Americans during the Monday Night Football game.
During a commercial break, a video tribute (see video below) was shown honoring the Navajo Code Breakers of World War II. The video, which was only shown in the stadium and not on ESPN, included old clips of both President Barack Obama and President George W. Bush speaking about the veterans. After the video, four of the veterans were shown on the field.
The timing of the tribute raised a lot of eyebrows as it felt like a forced moment in the middle of the current controversy surrounding the team’s continued use of a name that many deem to be racially insensitive. The inclusion in the video of a Native American reciting “Hail to the Redskins!” felt scripted and the veterans on the field wearing jackets with Redskins logos added to the awkwardness of the moment.
Here is video of both the clip shown in the stadium and the scene on the field…