Matthew McConaughey comes out to support Washington Redskins keeping their 'offensive' team name

  • The lifelong Redskins fan says he knows American Indians who are not offended by the name
  • However, Native American and civil rights groups have been fighting for years to get the name changed 
  • That cause gained traction this year when the U.S. Patent Office cancelled the team's trademark for being 'disparaging to Native Americans' 
  • Team owner Dan Snyder has vowed to never change the name, and invited McConaughey to watch a practice last June  

By Ashley Collman for MailOnline

Published: 10:22 EST, 21 October 2014 | Updated: 11:00 EST, 21 October 2014

Man of the moment Matthew McConaughey has taken up an unlikely cause - supporting Washington Redskins team owner Dan Snyder in his quest to keep the team's name which many Native American groups consider offensive.

Despite being born and raised in Texas, the Academy Award-winning actor has been a Redskins fan since the age four, when he rooted for the Indians in Western movies and associated then-quarterback Chris Hanburger with his favorite food - hamburgers.  

'I love the emblem. I dig it. It gives me a little fire and some oomph,' McConaughey said in an interview with GQ. 

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Famous fan: Actor Matthew McConaughey has come out to support the Washington Redskins keeping their team name, which many Native Americans group say is offensive. Pictured above at a Redskins practice last June, with team owner Dan Snyder (red-striped shirt) who has vowed never to change the team name

Famous fan: Actor Matthew McConaughey has come out to support the Washington Redskins keeping their team name, which many Native Americans group say is offensive. Pictured above at a Redskins practice last June, with team owner Dan Snyder (red-striped shirt) who has vowed never to change the team name

Civil rights groups have been fighting for years to get the team's name changed, and that cause gained some traction recently when the U.S. Patent Office cancelled the Redskins  trademark  in June for being 'disparaging to Native Americans'.

However, team-owner Snyder has personally vowed never to change the name on the basis that it 'honors' the American Indian legacy, and is currently engaged in a legal battle to keep the moniker.

'I know a lot of Native Americans don't have a problem with it, but they're not going to say, "No, we really want the name." That's not how they're going to use their pulpit,' McConaughey said. 

In an interview with GQ, the Academy Award-winning actor says he knows native Americans who do not have a problem with the name. One Native American held up a sign saying as much as a game against the Arizona Cardinals earlier this month (above)

Not offended: In an interview with GQ, the Academy Award-winning actor says he knows native Americans who do not have a problem with the name. One Native American held up a sign saying as much as a game against the Arizona Cardinals earlier this month (left). On the right, a picture of the team's American Indian emblem 

Critics: Native American indians protest the Washington Redskins name prior to the game against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium on October 12 

Critics: Native American indians protest the Washington Redskins name prior to the game against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium on October 12 

Magazine man: McConaughey is the cover man for this month's GQ magazine

Magazine man: McConaughey is the cover man for this month's GQ magazine

'It's like my feeling about gun control: "I get it. You have the right to have guns. But look, let's forget that right. Let's forget the pleasure you get safely on your range, because it's in the wrong hands in other places,"' he added. 

'What interests me is how quickly it got pushed into the social consciousness. We were all fine with it since the 1930s, and all of a sudden we go, "No, gotta change it"? It seems like when the first levee breaks, everybody gets on board.

However, McConaughey says he won't be hurt if Snyder is eventually forced to change the team name. 

'Now that it's in the court of public opinion, it's going to change. I wish it wouldn't, but it will,' the actor said.

This isn't the first time McConaughey has come out in support of the Redskins. 

Last June, the actor swung by practice while in the D.C. area for a charity event, where he was pictured chatting up quarterback Robert Griffin III and watching drills from the sidelines with Snyder.

McConaughey is in the middle of a career-resurgence, and this year won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Dallas Buyers Club, as well as Emmy nomination for acting on TV show True Detective.

He is will next star in space-drama Interstellar, which is slated to be released next month. 

On the sidelines: When he attended Redskins practice last June, McConaughey chatted up quarterback Robert Griffin III. McConaughey says he's been a Redskins fan since the age of four, despite being a Texas, because he always rooted for Indians in Western movies and associated then-quarterback Chris Hanburger with his favorite food - hambugers 

On the sidelines: When he attended Redskins practice last June, McConaughey chatted up quarterback Robert Griffin III. McConaughey says he's been a Redskins fan since the age of four, despite being a Texas, because he always rooted for Indians in Western movies and associated then-quarterback Chris Hanburger with his favorite food - hambugers 

 

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