The Washington Redskins were on the wrong end of a few questionable calls against the Carolina Panthers in what ended up being a lop-sided 44-16 loss.
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Redskins defensive end Jason Hatcher, left, shown chasing Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, says the team is receiving unfair officiating because of its “Redskins” moniker.
The franchise have courted long-term controversy over the question of whether their “Redskins” title is offensive to Native Americans, with several groups and media outlets suggesting that they should be made to change their name.
Is this reading too much into the angry postgame comments of one emotional veteran disappointed about Sunday’s loss to Carolina? We’re players and we work our butts off, too.
“Do not single us out. At the end of the day, it’s the name”, Hatcher said. We work our butt off, too.
“I don’t want us to be perceived as a team that’s looking for excuses to why we lost”, said Coach Jay Gruden, who plans to talk to his team about keeping criticism private.
Hatcher was even more explicit in his Instagram post, asking officials not to “punish us for something we can’t control”. That helps explain the inconsistencies, but it’s more than just that: they have yet to become consistent in the run game on either side of the ball. “It’s just not right”. We in the league, too. Referees in the National Football League catch heat for a lot of things but it’s tough to remember a player ever blaming the officials because of a bias against a team’s name.
“I don’t know if it’s about the name or what”. And they’re tied with the Eagles for second place at 4-6, but the Redskins already have defeated them so if they win they’d be in first place via tiebreakers.
Still, with four division games in the last six, the Redskins are in good position to control their fate. “We know the capabilities this team has”.
“I haven’t heard that”, Cousins said. They played a great game. Act like it!! We give up our bodies up and take years off our life for our brother that we sweat and bleed with during the week to get screwed by a call.
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The players have undoubtedly talked about the name themselves since reporters occasionally ask about it and the issue is always in the news, yet they rarely confront the issue and nearly never bring it up in interviews.
