Chiefs ban fans from wearing Native American face paints, headdresses to Arrowhead Stadium

In the wake of the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement, reigning Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs will prohibit fans from wearing headdresses and face paintings that imitate Native American cultures and traditions. In a statement issued on Thursday, the Chiefs said they would also be looking to make changes to two of the popular Arrowhead traditions: The iconic tomahawk chop (also known as the Arrowhead Chop) and the pregame beating of a drum. 

Chiefs ban face paint, Native American imagery

"In 2014, we began a dialogue with a group of local leaders from diverse American Indian backgrounds and experiences," the Chiefs said in the statement. "As an organisation, our goal was to gain a better understanding of the issues facing American Indian communities in our region and explore opportunities to both raise awareness of American Indian cultures and celebrate the rich traditions of tribes with a historic connection to the Kansas City area."

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The Chiefs further noted that conversations with the American Indian Community Working Group helped educate the team and the fans about their heritage and culture. The Super Bowl LIV champs said the franchise had so far discouraged fans from wearing "ceremonial headdresses" and Native-American face paints to the stadium.

Moving forward, the team will ensure such imagery is not seen inside the Arrowhead Stadium by prohibiting fans from entering the stadium donning the banned items. Fans found with face paints representing American Indian culture will be asked to remove the same before being allowed to pass the security screening. Regular face paints will still be allowed. 

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The announcement from the Chiefs comes following immense pressure on the Washington Football Team (formerly known as the Redskins) to drop their racist nickname. Team owner Dan Snyder had resisted a name change since 2013. However, he was forced to reconsider after the rising protests posed a threat to the team's financial growth this year.

While Snyder and co. have since dropped 'Redskins' from their name, the team is yet to announce an official nickname for the franchise. Until the team finalised a new name along with a new crest and long, the NFL franchise will be identified as the aforementioned, Washington Football Team. 

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Earlier this week, Kansas City Chiefs announced their plan to allow fans in the stadium during the early phase of the 2020 NFL season. The Chiefs said it will host NFL games with roughly 22% of the stadium's capacity, which comes around 16,000 fans. If the NFL schedule remains unchanged, Chiefs with kickstart their title defence on September 11 at home to Houston Texans. 

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(Image Credits: Chiefs Twitter Handle)