John Oliver makes a persuasive case for Washington ditching the name Redskins

John Oliver noted on Sunday night's Last Week Tonight that President Obama's visit to the Standing Rock Sioux reservation last week makes him only the fourth sitting U.S. president ever to visit an Indian reservation. One slightly off-color Andrew Jackson joke later, Oliver pivoted to the ongoing refusal of Washington's NFL team to drop its widely criticized name: the Redskins.

Oliver highlighted a moving new ad urging the team to drop the name — and owner Dan Snyder's reaction, that "Redskins is more than a name we have called our football team for over eight decades," but also a symbol of "strength, courage, pride, and respect."

Oliver was not impressed. "I had no idea you had an ancient eight-decade history at stake here," he said, sticking a shiv in the guts of Washington football fans. "You are clearly a proud people who have suffered greatly. Please accept my apologies, Chief Runs Without Moral Compass." To cap it off, Oliver made his own ad shaming the Redskins for not changing their name (complete with the requisite HBO F-bomb). --Peter Weber

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up