A group of Native Americans working to strip sports teams of Indian imagery and names is urging extreme left-wing pop star Taylor Swift to take up their campaign to force the Kansas City Chiefs to ban fans from performing the “tomahawk chop” chant during games.
Swift was in a suite Sunday with Donna Kelce, her new beau NFL star Travis Kelce’s mother when fans at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City began performing the venerable chant as the Chiefs defeated the Chicago Bears 41-10, Fox News reported.
Rhonda LeValdo, the founder of the liberal activist group Not in Our Honor, claimed that she hopes Swift will start speaking out to criticize the “racist” chant.
Kansas City Chiefs fans do the Tomahawk Chop in the third quarter of an AFC West game between the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs on December 29, 2019, at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, MO. (Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
“We remain hopeful that an outside influence like Ms. Swift could be an ally for us in moving the conversation forward on why the chop is a racist act,” LeValdo told TMZ.
“To us, that hand gesture is synchronized racism. We implore Ms. Swift to take the time to understand our perspective and the scientific and psychological research into the harm to youth and communities caused by such behavior,” she added.
Taylor Swift cheers from a suite as the Kansas City Chiefs play the Chicago Bears at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on September 24, 2023, in Kansas City, Missouri. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
Left-wing activists have been working for decades to force the Chiefs to stop fans from delivering the chant during games, not to mention changing their name and dumping all Native American imagery.
Chiefs President Mark Donovan, though, has repeatedly said that changing the team’s name is not on the table now.
“We also respect that we need to continue to educate and raise awareness of the Native American culture and the things we do to celebrate, that we’ve done more over the last seven years — I think — than any other team to raise awareness and educate ourselves,” Donovan said.
Still, in 2020, the Chiefs did ban fans from wearing Indian-styled headgear and feathered headdresses in the stadium.
“While we have discouraged fans from wearing headdresses for several years, effective immediately, fans will be prohibited from wearing headdresses into the stadium,” the Chiefs explained in a statement at the time. “Face painting is still allowed for all fans, but any face paint that is styled in a way that references or appropriates American Indian cultures and traditions will be prohibited.”
The team added that other changes could be made with “consultation” with radical, left-wing groups.
“We are grateful for the meaningful conversations we have had with all of these American Indian leaders,” the Chiefs said. “It is important that we continue the dialogue on these significant topics, and we look forward to continuing to work together in the future.”
The team moved to Kansas City in 1963 and became the Chiefs after consultation with representatives of the Northern Arapaho.
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