It's hypocritical to dismiss Natives' views opposing sports names and mascots but claim to be against racism
The part that annoyed me most about Wale's interview with Shannon Sharpe
D.C. native Olubowale “Wale” Victor Akintimehin has a habit of always reminding me about why I should enjoy dancing and rapping along to his music but never watch his interviews. It’s not just the excessive amount of complaining and borderline whining. I can tolerate that. Musiq Soulchild does the same thing in every single interview, and I still love him as an R&B artist. He is never coming out of my playlist.
But on two separate occasions (including his recent interview with Pro Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe), I’ve heard Wale be cavalier about the new(er) name Washington Commanders, and it got under my skin. He absolutely doesn’t give a damn about why “redskins” is offensive to Native Americans, and it sounds startlingly MAGA-ish coming from somebody who thinks the Obama presidency was an easier time.
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I had this sports name debate during my Twitter days with actor Jeffrey Wright, and it made me like him in “American Fiction” and “Highest 2 Lowest” films just a little bit less. (I support Denzel Washington in everything he’s involved in. Admittedly, “American Fiction” was arguably a much better movie than “Highest 2 Lowest,” mainly because of Sterling K. Brown. I could say the same for Beyonce and Columbus Short stealing scenes in “Cadillac Records,” but Wright was cool in that film too. His cultural views however? Not so much.) And Wale sounds just like him.
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My suspicion is I wouldn’t be this emotionally invested in opposition to Natives’ faces being used as mascots or slurs used for sports teams if I hadn’t spent two years in Marquette, Michigan. As much as I loathed the university I attended, I learned a whole lot more about Native people while I was in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan than I ever did during my brief time in Canada speaking to a tribe during a graduation trip. This wasn't just somebody’s pow-wow. I camped, partied and hung out with Native students and faculty, and it left an impression.
What made Wale’s argument even less logical was he’d just spoken at Club Shay Shay about how disrespectful someone was in regard to hip-hop when he wanted to use a Bollywood sample on his most recent album “Everything Is a Lot.” Then, he went on to make a sound argument about not dividing Africans and African-Americans — only to proudly claim he’ll still wear Redskins attire in the same interview. That’s the type of “agent” attitude he accused Sharpe of.
I love his 2026 album. I listen to “Everything Is a Lot” on repeat. But I really hate Wale’s and Wright’s dismissive views on sports teams belittling Native culture.
Show me a fan of any of these teams who can tell me five historical facts about any of the 574 recognized tribes — not just the sports teams. I’ll wait.
The debates over Native American sports names and mascots is not new
Disagreements about Native-named sports teams and mascots have been part of U.S. sports debate tables for decades, and I learned about the petitions circulating in 1999 and 2000. For many Natives, these names and images are not “traditions.” They're reminders of a long history of misrepresentation, marginalization and exclusion. That should smell really familiar for Black folks — Nigerians like Wale included.