The endless, frequently stupid discussion of whether the Washington Redskins should call themselves something that isn’t a racial slur continued on Monday, when the gals of Fox News’ Outnumbered tackled the issue with guest host Pete Hegseth. The chat began with host Harris Faulkner holding up a five-page list of organizations and people — including 49 senators — who have asked that the football team’s name be changed. After her fellow female hosts paid some lip service to “letting the free market decide,” Hegseth jumped in to say, “This is ridiculous — the market has spoken on this,” before claiming that the majority of Native Americans don’t find the word redskin offensive. (The Bleacher Report reports that the results of the poll Hegseth cited have been disputed.)
Echoing the laughable claim of the team president Bruce Allen, Hegseth said that the Redskins’ name is “a term of respect to people. And I think that’s how we should remember that.” And even if the name isn’t quite as respectful as Allen would have the public believe, it’s still alright to use it because, as Hegseth explained, “When’s the last time you heard someone use [redskin] as a racial slur? It’s not used commonly at all as a racial slur.” If only more people were as publicly disrespectful a Fox News host, then perhaps Hegseth could be convinced that the name is a problem.
The fun begins at around 1:20:
