La Salle-Peru graduate and former Washington player upset with decision on team name switch

Joe Rutgens has been connected to Native American symbols for the better part of his 81 years, and he’s proud of how he said he exemplified their “noble, fighting spirit” in that time, both on the football field and off.

And he will continue to feel that pride, even though a significant part of it changed Monday.

Rutgens was a member of La Salle-Peru High School’s Incas as an underclassman before moving on to be an all-American defensive tackle for the University of Illinois’ Fighting Illini. He is dismayed that the NFL’s Washington franchise – for which he played for 10 years and made two Pro Bowls – announced it will move away from the nickname “Redskins,” effective immediately.

According to an Associated Press report, Native American advocates and experts have criticized the name they call a “dictionary-defined racial slur.” Over a dozen Native American leaders and organizations wrote to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell last week demanding an immediate end to Washington’s use of the name. Goodell, who has fielded questions on the topic for years, said he supported the review.

No name or logo has been chosen to replace the feathered Native American profile that has adorned the helmets for the last 87 years. However, the team hopes to have one chosen by the time the team reports for training camp on July 28. It will retain its burgundy, gold and white color scheme.

“I played for them for 10 years, and I don’t want to see it go, but I’m only one guy,” said Rutgens, a native of Cedar Point and now a resident of Spring Valley. “It’s disappointing. It’s the same thing as when they removed Chief Illiniwek at the University of Illinois because they said it was degrading. I don’t believe we ever did anything to degrade the Native Americans, there or in Washington. I could see it if there was something being done to dishonor [Native Americans], but I felt we were honoring them. I guess there are just some people who feel differently.

“They will always be the Redskins to me. I’m going to keep all the Redskins stuff I got and I’m going to wear it with pride. I’m even keeping my license plates [R SKINS 72]. I’ll have those always.”

Rutgens, who in 1961 was the third player taken in the first round of the NFL draft and was fourth overall in the old AFL, said there are still other nicknames in use that are insulting, like the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL, the Atlanta Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates of MLB and the Golden State Warriors in the NBA.

He said Warriors is one of the new names being rumored, along with the Red Tails. The latter would be in honor of the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of African American pilots in World War II who were nicknamed because of the distinctive red paint used on the tails of their fighters.

Right now, Rutgens is unsure which direction the team management will go.

“It all depends on how you look at it,” Rutgens said. “If you look hard enough, you could probably find something bad with every nickname there is. I just don’t know.”

Rutgens’ son, Joseph, admits he’s a little biased toward keeping the name of the franchise he’s been a fan of his entire life, but he acknowledges the reasoning behind the change.

“Is it disappointing? Yes. Do I understand it? Yes, as well,” said the younger Rutgens, now a resident of Wheaton. “If there were Native American people coming forward saying that they didn’t like it, then absolutely 100%, it needs to be done. I have personally had conversations with several Native American people over the years and recently, and they had no problem with it. … In fact, one man felt that it was a way to keep the Native American culture in today’s society so we wouldn’t forget about them. That was his opinion.

“It’s like a lot of things we’re seeing in the world today. People are trying to make a difference, but in things that don’t really affect them. And I have never heard any Redskins fan ever use that term in a negative way. I guess it’s the end of an era. Things change.”