Oscar-winning actor and producer Matthew McConaughey revealed that he is a lifelong fan of the Washington Redskins and that he doesn’t want the team to change. He made the comments in a wide-ranging interview in GQ’s November issue.
When McConaughey made a passing remark about wanting to be a Redskins running back growing up, the interviewer asked about his love for the team, given that he grew up in Texas.
“4 years old, watching Westerns, I always rooted for the Indians,” he explained “Second, my favorite food was hamburgers. The Redskins had a linebacker named Chris Hanburger… I got a Redskins hat in my bag right now.” (RELATED: Mike Ditka Says Criticism Of Redskins’ Name Is ‘Horse S**t,’ Blames Controversy On ‘Political Correct Idiots’)
Naturally, the next question was about calls to change the team name, to which McConaughey gave a detailed answer.
“Man, it’s twofold. 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. 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 even worked in a dig against gun control: “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.'”
Ultimately, he felt the logo would change, but he would miss the old one. “I love the emblem. I dig it. It gives me a little fire and some oomph. But now that it’s in the court of public opinion, it’s going to change. I wish it wouldn’t, but it will.”