Problematic Florida Sports Names That Need to Change

I am trying to get the attention of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis about the nicknames used by several sports teams in his state that need to be changed.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers is one. Buccaneers were bad people. They were sailors and soldiers commissioned by the British and French in the 17th century to board Spanish ships — the French and English were at war with the Spanish — and relieve them of all the silver and gold treasures they’d stolen from the Aztecs and other tribes in South and Central America and were transporting to Spain.

The kings of the two countries commissioning the operation would get a portion of the loot. But the buccaneers, often drunk and unruly, would keep the lion’s share. And of course, the Spanish crews, officers and mates were forced to walk the plank.

Children shouldn’t have to put up with rooting for a team celebrating such awful behavior. Especially in grades one to three.

The other two teams with bad names are the Miami Dolphins and the Florida State Seminoles.

Dolphins have been subjugated by humans since we began encountering them. The most recent maltreatment, which the Florida government in charge before DeSantis dealt with, was the awful things dolphins were being asked to do at SeaWorld. Dolphins gained respect as a result. The dolphins should not have to put up with being a mascot of some sports team.

As for the Seminoles, Native American tribes have repeatedly stated they do not want to be part of any sports team using their name for either entertainment or profit.

Lance Gumbs, the vice president of the National Congress of American Indians and a tribal ambassador of the Shinnecock Indian Nation, held a meeting where he demanded that white Americans stop demeaning indigenous people in this way. He declared that white Americans would not put up with nasty nicknames of Jewish or Italian people, which he then uttered, to show the disrespect and persecution that such nicknames can lead to.

Another governor I am trying to contact is Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. Pittsburgh roots for their Pirates. And the pirates of the world, although not unionized, can hardly be blamed for taking issue. Pirates, back in the day, were the worst. Even worse than the buccaneers. And certainly, the descendants of pirates today are being blamed for the disgusting activities their ancestors engaged in.

This is an unfortunate side effect of having been born with this ancestry.