Game of the week: Love vs. Gay Pride

By Gary Kaufman

Published June 29, 2000 7:02PM (EDT)

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Today's article about PETA telling the Green Bay Packers to change their name just illustrates how far out of touch and irrelevant PETA has become. I can't say I disagree with their core ideals -- animals do deserve more respect and better treatment on the whole -- but going after sports teams with obscure names that no one even associates with animals, much less animal cruelty, seems truly inane. Speaking for myself, a semi-sports fan, I had no idea that "Packers" originated with meat-packing plants -- I'd never given it a thought. I'm sure I'm not alone in this.

PETA needs to focus on keeping its image professional and above ridicule if its message is going to have any credible impact. Going off half-cocked against sports teams who will never give in to its demands only says to me that PETA is more interested in hand-waving instigation and stupid "liberations" of lab animals than it is in changing the minds of the people in power.

-- Doug Alexander

I couldn't agree with PETA more. The Green Bay moniker IS offensive. Here are a few ideas for a new name:

The Green Bay Seal Clubbers
The Green Bay Leghold Trappers
The Green Bay Treehugging Ballerinas
The Green Bay Bambi Bangers
The Green Bay Dirtmunching Druids
The Green Bay Poodle Punchers
The Green Bay Wood Nymphs
The Green Bay Animal Testers
The Green Bay Cuddly-Wuddly Fuzzy-Wuzzies

-- Geoff McLain


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