Let me start by sharing that I am a huge Green Bay Packers fan. I grew up watching the Packers play on TV every Sunday, first in black and white and later, once our family could afford it, in color. I live only an hour or so from storied Lambeau Field, have tailgated with friends and family in the stadium parking lot, and tormented the Vikings, Lions and Bears from the 50-yard line. I love football, and I love the Packers.

So, how did the Packers get their name? Just over a century ago, a young man by the name of Curly Lambeau approached his employer, then owner of the Indian Packing Co. based in Green Bay, Wisc., to sponsor a new football team. The company agreed and provided Curly with football jerseys and a playing field. The Green Bay Packers were born, and Curly continued to play for, coach and manage the Green Bay Packers for decades.

Fast forward 100 years. In a recent conversation with a new neighbor about the wide spectrum of professional sport teams which have, or are considering, changing their names, I found myself reflecting upon the interesting ways in which the concept of political correctness has evolved within our culture and society. In most ways, I think the evolution is good. As a society we are becoming more aware of the impact, and sensitive to avoiding the use of, certain names and terms which others find offensive. The most recent wave of professional sports teams changing their long-held names include the Washington Redskins, the Cleveland Indians, the Atlanta Braves and the Kansas City Chiefs. By changing the names of these teams, the owners have acknowledged the importance of being sensitive to Native Americans, their history and their culture.

As we look to the future, I ponder what the next wave might bring. While discussing sport teams with my neighbor, our conversation eventually shifted to the type of work that I do. As I apologized for being a lawyer because — as I often explain to new acquaintances — “I don’t like lawyers either,” we began chatting about how our food is made. As I described the journey embarked upon by many cattle from feedlot to fork, I felt whisperings of political correctness begin to influence my own words.

“In most cases,” I explained to my neighbor, “the cattle are born, raised caringly, provided healthy grass-fed diets, transported carefully to establishments supervised by highly trained and compassionate government inspectors, harvested humanely, hand-crafted and placed nicely into their final biodegradable packaging.” Huh.

Long gone, I noticed, from my vocabulary are some of the more uncomfortable terms, such as “beef slaughter.” “That’s right,” I told my neighbor, when he raised an eyebrow, “we don’t slaughter any cattle anymore, we harvest them instead.” They like it better. So, too, do certain segments of society.

So, as political correctness continues to evolve and we continue to sterilize our language by removing those terms which may be regarded by some as crude or offensive, will “beef sticker,” “hide puller” or “beef packer” be next on the chopping block? Perhaps less descriptive and less offensive terms would be “beef transfixer,” “fell sheller” or “hand-crafter?”

So, should the Green Bay Packers ever consider changing their name? Maybe, someday in the future, the “Green Bay Plant-Based Beef-Alternative Hand-Crafters” would be a more appealing title to some.

Let's hope never! But, in this new and evolving area of political correctness, the conversation sure makes interesting food for thought.

Should the Green Bay Packers change their name?

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