The Chiefs‘ latest Super Bowl win brought massive publicity to the franchise—most of it favorable. It also gives observers a chance to shine a light on aspects of the organization that deserve criticism.
In a recent column, Randy Essex of the Detroit Free Press ripped Kansas City for the use of the Tomahawk Chop. The gesture—like many other names and imitations of Native American culture in sports—has been widely scrutinized, but Essex truly didn’t hold back in decrying the offensiveness of the gesture.
“As a lifelong and previously long-suffering Kansas City Chiefs fan, I love everything about the team emerging as a dynasty. Except, well, the racism,” Essex writes in the Free Press. “Let’s start with the oafish, obnoxious Tomahawk Chop. It’s a chant accompanied by a drumbeat and an arm-chopping motion that evokes cartoonish 1950s stereotypes of Native Americans.”
Both the Guardians and Commanders renamed their franchises in recent years after decades of criticism over their usage of Native Americans as mascots. Obviously, renaming the Chiefs would be a much bigger ask than ending the Tomahawk Chop—but Essex makes some fair points in regard to the cheer and asks the NFL to adhere to the “End Racism” message that it has written in its own end zones.
“This is no harmless little ritual—especially now that the Chiefs are the transcendent franchise in the nation’s most popular sports league,” Essex writes. “That means more national exposure to the Arrowhead atmosphere, more hero worship of Chiefs stars and more kids picking up the chop.”
