Because, in American media, the controversy over a few people’s complaints carries equal weight with the controversy over horrible institutionalized discrimination, Jon Stewart prefaced the highly anticipated “Daily Show” segment over the Washington Redskins’ name with the following:
“Recently, we sent our intrepid reporter Jason Jones out to the field to explore the phenomenon of a certain Washington D.C. football team’s controversial name. We learned later that some of the participants who participated in the piece — they didn’t enjoy the experience. It’s something that happens a lot less than you think, but we take the complaints seriously. We generally don’t want people to participate in the show to have a bad experience… If we find out, in a piece, that someone was intentionally misled or if their comments were intentionally misrepresented, we do not air that piece. We would not air that piece. So that being said, I hope you enjoy the following piece.”
So, that bit of context aside, on to the segment, which featured Jones meeting with both Native Americans advocating for a name change, as well as Washington fans who did not think it was offensive enough to require a re-branding.
See video: ‘South Park’ Mocks Washington Redskins in Promo Aired During Team’s Game
Of course, it should be noted that some of the pro-Redskins advocates were 1/12 Cherokee, so really, it wasn’t exactly an equal debate!
Eventually, Jones brought the two sides together, which created such a heated conversation that they couldn’t even air the dialogue on television.
Also read: Redskins Firestorm: How the TV Networks Will Handle the Name Controversy
Sad to say, none of this will likely change the mind of owner Dan Snyder, who trotted his usual ridiculous talking points out for a short few moments during the segment.