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

(Image credit: HBO)

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

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.