Santa Barbara Actor and Football Hall of Famer at Center of ‘Redskin’ Name Change Debate

Billie ‘Lone Star’ Dietz, a Wannabe Native American Exposed for Lying About Tribal Identity

Dan Snyder (right) claimed it was unnecessary to rename the Washington Redskins because its first coach, Billie ‘Lone Star’ Dietz (left), was Sioux. Dietz, who died in 1964, was actually German American.

KICK-OFF: Billie “Lone Star” Dietz might be the saddest fabulist most people never heard of. Now, 56 years after his ignominious death, Dietz finds himself enmeshed in one of the most protracted and gratuitous controversies about racism and sports — the name of Washington, D.C.’s football team. And like many scandals in the nation’s capital, Dietz, it turns out, had ties to Santa Barbara, where he acted in the city’s early silent movie industry.

Today, he is the last remaining parsley sprig of an excuse wielded by Daniel Snyder—perhaps the most odious owner in the entire National Football League—for not changing the name of the Washington Redskins to something—anything—else.

Snyder—under whose leadership the Redskins have floundered in benthic mediocrity—has only just agreed to think about changing the name, after having previously vowed it would “NEVER” happen. Various Native American organizations have been on the Redskins’ case since 1988—but until the recent eruption of Black Lives Matters such efforts went nowhere fast. Now, even FedEx—which owns $205 million worth of naming rights for the team’s stadium—has got religion. So too has Nike, which will no longer sell the team’s apparel.