Bob CollinsLast night, Comedy Channel’s Daily Show finally aired its segment on the Washington Redskins, almost a week after some of the participants themselves objected to what they said about the team’s racist nickname.
At issue was a forced meeting between Native Americans and fans of the team who were being interviewed by cast member Jason Jones.
The Washington Post reports that most of that confrontation was cut out of the piece.
“This goes way beyond mocking. Poking fun is one thing, but that’s not what happened,” said Kelli O’Dell, 56, a former teacher who lives in Alexandria and doesn’t watch the show regularly. “It was disingenuous. The Native Americans accused me of things that were so wrong. I felt in danger. I didn’t consent to that. I am going to be defamed.”
Brian Dortch, who runs a home-repair business in Dinwiddie, Va., and counts himself a Comedy Central fan, said he and his fellow Redskins supporters asked producers in advance whether they would have to face off with Native Americans.
“They told us they were going to have a fan panel, and, at some other time, they were going to do a panel with Native Americans,” said Dortch, 38. “So I said back, ‘Just to clarify, specifically, we’re not doing a cross-panel discussion right?’ The producer said, ‘Yeah, right. That would be too serious for Comedy Central.’ ”
Among those confronting the Redskin fans was Tara Houska, a 2012 graduate of the University of Minnesota who is a member of the Couchiching First Nation in Fort Frances, Ontario and was born and raised in International Falls, Minn.
“My heart goes out to them because they are people, too,” Houska told the Post. “But it’s a weird position for them to take, because someone is crying over the loss of their offensive mascot when I am right there, standing in front of them. I don’t think they’re racist. I think their mascot is racist.”
