The National Football League’s Hollow Commitment to Ending Racism: The League’s History of American Indian Misappropriation and Continued Support of the Kansas City Football Team

The racial stereotyping of American Indians remains a foundational narrative in sport media coverage and marketing efforts. While professional teams like the Washington Commanders stopped misappropriating American Indian imagery in 2020, many sport teams like the Kansas City Chiefs continue to do so. In this essay, the National Football League’s claims to address systemic racism after the death of African American George Floyd in 2020 are examined in the context of the league’s complicity in the misappropriation of American Indian imagery as promoted by the Kansas City franchise. In this essay, the relationship of Sac and Fox athlete Jim Thorpe and other American Indian athletes to the U.S. government and the sport of football is revisited, as well as Kansas City’s construction of the “Chiefs” brand identity and the implications of the National Football League calling for an “end to racism” while perpetuating long-standing settler colonial practices that are presented as entertainment for mass audiences.