As the Kansas City Chiefs prepare to play for the franchise’s third Super Bowl title on Sunday, a cancel-culture mob is demanding that the team find a new name.
The social-justice warriors also want fans forgo the traditional war chant and tomahawk chop, Fox Sports reported.
In the fall, the Chiefs banned fans from sporting Indian headdresses and war paint. The team’s cheerleaders were instructed to change the open-fisted chop into a close-fisted smash, like they are beating a drum.
But these changes did not appease American Indian activist Gaylene Crouser, executive director of the Kansas City Indian Center.
“They think that that somehow helps, and they are still playing that ridiculous Hollywood Indian song, which is such a stereotypical Indian song from like old cowboy movies or something,” she said.
“I don’t know how they feel that that made any difference at all,” she added. “And it’s not like their fans are doing it any different, either.”
A coalition of American Indian groups bought billboards around Kansas City that called on the Chiefs to change the mascot and team name and to stop fans from doing the tomahawk chop.
Many groups, including the Florida Indigenous Rights and Environmental Equality, will protest at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, where the Chiefs will face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.
The coalition also bought a plane to fly around the stadium displaying a message in protest.
Chiefs president Mark Donovan signaled his desire to comply with the demands of the activists.
“You are going to have opinions on all sides on what we should and shouldn’t do,” he said.
“We’re going to continue to have those discussions,” he continued. “We’re going to continue to make changes going forward, and hopefully changes that do what we hope, which is respect and honor Native American heritage while celebrating the fan experience.”
