Feature

Should lawmakers force the Washington Redskins to get a new name?

Politicians threaten to get tough if team owner Dan Snyder doesn't give in

Ten members of Congress — nine Democrats and one Republican — sent a letter to Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder urging him to change the football team's name, which they said is offensive to Native Americans. The note also went to the 31 other NFL franchises, as well as the league's commissioner, Roger Goodell, and the Redskins' sponsor, FedEx.

The lawmakers gave new energy to an old demand — the team has been under pressure from activists for years to get a new name. Snyder said early this month that critics should drop it. "We'll never change the name," he told USA Today. "It's that simple. Never." Should Congress devise a way to force him to change his mind?

Plenty of people think the R-word is as insulting to Native Americans as the N-word is to African Americans, and that no word with that kind of racist tinge should be tolerated by the NFL. "I am somewhat embarrassed to be a fan of a team that has such an offensive name," former congressional candidate Krystal Ball, now a co-host of MSNBC's The Cycle, says. "It's time to move on. Let it go."

Washington, D.C., Councilman David Grosso offered the team an easy fix: Change the name to Redtails to honor the Tuskegee Airmen, he suggested earlier in May. "You can still sing the song and everything," he said, singing, "Hail ... to the ... Redtails." D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray has even suggested the city might link a name change to letting the team build a new stadium within the city limits.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have focused on another way to exert direct pressure on the team. Pat Garofalo at U.S. News & World Report points out that the lawmakers have alerted the NFL that they're pushing a bill that would amend the 1946 Trademark Act to cancel trademarks using the term "redskin." That, Garofalo says, would cut sharply into Snyder's income from marketing Redskins gear, because anybody would be able to slap the name on T-shirts and sell them.

So these 10 members of Congress hit on perhaps the best approach for getting Snyder to change his mind: Not going after his sense of decency, but his bottom line. [U.S. News]

But not everyone thinks Congress should wade into this fight. Abby Borovitz at MSNBC notes that 79 percent of respondents in an AP-GFX poll said the Washington Redskins shouldn't change their name, while only 11 percent said they should. And perhaps surprisingly, one group in particular isn't bothered by the team's moniker: According to the University of Pennsylvania's National Annenberg Election Survey, 90 percent of Native Americans find the team name acceptable.

Recommended

The NBA's next big star
Victor Wembanyama.
Profile

The NBA's next big star

Should horse racing be banned?
The 149th running of the Kentucky Derby.
Today's big question

Should horse racing be banned?

Mage wins 149th Kentucky Derby under shadow of horse deaths
Mage wins the 149th Kentucky Derby in 2023.
And They're Off!

Mage wins 149th Kentucky Derby under shadow of horse deaths

Oakland Athletics announcer suspended after using racial slur on air
An Oakland Athletics baseball cap.
What Did He Just Say?

Oakland Athletics announcer suspended after using racial slur on air

Most Popular

How could AI cause human extinction?
An illustrated image of the evolution of humans, marching toward a city on fire
Today's big question

How could AI cause human extinction?

Why are so many boomers homeless?
Homeless person and tents
Today's big question

Why are so many boomers homeless?

Is Trump's wall working?
International Border Wall Between Tecate California and Tecate Mexico.
Briefing

Is Trump's wall working?