An LC reader objects to my comments on the Washington Redskins and asked that I pass along the following:

“If anything, the Redskins stand as proponents of liberty: year after year they face the threat of lawsuit over their name. Apparently, there are rich,white, suit-wearing lawyers that find the name
“Redskin” offensive. . .all on the behalf of Native Americans, I presume. But the ‘Skins won’t change their name just because a greedy lawyer or compassionate politician says that they have to.”

“(In fact, the name itself comes from the *warpaint*worn by warriors who defended their own land [the only kind of just war] rather than their skin color).

Dan Snyder (the owner) runs the most successful franchise in the NFL, financially speaking. In fact, the Redskins are estimated to be the 2nd most valuable sports franchise in the *world* (They are slightly
less valuable than Manchester United of the English Premier League). Mind you, Snyder didn’t make the franchise this wealthy by collecting people’s income at gunpoint. Rather, the Redskins have figured out
how to please consumers better than anyone else. Why associate them with the state?–the two have nothing in common when it comes to money and consumers.

In addition, for many years the Redskins were called “the team of the south.” That is, the old South, which was far more libertarian in its thinking than anything the United States has to offer today.

It’s no surprise that, even though they are both in DC, the Redskins and the politicians have little in common. After all, the politicians in Washington can’t comprehend a life of peace and enjoyment in the little things (like rooting for your team year after
year). Instead, they seem to spend their time figuring out more ways to take A’s money so that B can have some, or so that we can bomb person C and liberate them.”

While he makes several good points, I must point out that the Redskins financial success is linked to their being located in the capital. Serving the state can be quite profitable, thus Redskins fans have the disposable income to throw around. I don’t think the DC area could support the second most profitable sports franchise in the world without the welfare-warfare state.