Richard Estrada: A rhetorical analysis of "Sticks and stones and sports teams"

Richard Estrada's article "Sticks and stones and sports teams" tackles the issue of professional sports teams with potentially inflammatory names like the Washington Redskins and the Atlanta Braves. These teams have been called upon to change their names because their mascots are considered offensive to Native Americans. Estrada persuasively argues with forceful pathos, logos, and ethos that although the names may not have been originally intended to disparage Native American culture, using the culture of a native people as a 'mascot' is ultimately dehumanizing. A columnist and former associate editor of the Dallas Morning News, Estrada was also a researcher at the Center for Immigration Studies and brings his experience in diversity studies to bear upon his analysis.

Estrada notes with pathos that the emotional toll upon Native American children can be devastating when these names of popular...
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