When I tuned in to watch the Super Bowl last night, I was not prepared for all the twists and turns my perception was going to take. I turned on the big game, readying myself to watch the San Francisco 49ers play against the Kansas City Chiefs, a team name that I believed was racist, just based on what Indigenous activists have been saying for decades upon decades. However, once I saw that Kansas City team’s end zone, I was shocked to find that they had put “End Racism” right above it.
Phew! That was a close one!
All these years, I thought that the Kansas City Chiefs having a long history of having a mascot of a horse named “Warpaint” ridden by a man wearing a headdress, an arrowhead as their logo, and fans who wear feathers and red face paint while doing the “tomahawk chop” at their games was all pretty racist, but when I saw that the team cared enough to add “End Racism” on top of their racist team name, I realized I has totally been mistaken.
I guess it all cancels out!
I can see why they made that choice — it’s probably impossible to change the name of their team now, despite multiple football teams changing their names throughout history for pretty average reasons that didn’t even involve racist implications of their names, so I totally understand why they opted for a tiny sliver of field that said “End Racism” instead. It just makes sense!
When I think about every racist comment, action, or microaggression I’ve been faced with in my life, it would have been so much better if those people had all said “End Racism” beforehand. It would’ve been like those instances didn’t even happen at all!
Honestly, I think the Chiefs might be onto something when it comes to finally achieving racial justice in the United States, and I can’t believe I misjudged their name, history, and legacy all this time.
