The Washington Redskins have been getting more and more heat for their use of a Native American slur as their team and although owner Dan Snyder has said that he will never change, the chorus is only getting louder.
According to ESPN.com, Congressional leaders have sent a letter to Snyder asking him tyo chance the name and they have also sent it to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, Redskins sponsor FedEx, and the other 31 NFL franchises. The Congressional Native American Caucus, Tom Cole, R-Okla., and Betty McCollum, D-Minn sent the letter and said that "Native Americans throughout the country consider the 'R-word' a racial, derogatory slur akin to the 'N-word' among African Americans or the 'W-word' among Latinos."
The nickname has been in the news a lot due to the legal battle going on over the use of it and also due to a Smithsonian panel from earlier in the year. Washington mayor Vincent Gray brought up the topic earlier in the year in regards to the team possibly moving back into the city in the future, as they currently play their games in Maryland. He stated that if the team wanted to do so, they should discuss changing the name.
"I think that if they get serious with the team coming back to Washington, there's no doubt there's going to have to be a discussion about that, and of course the team is going to have to work with us around that issue," Gray said, to the Washington Post. "I think it has become a lightning rod, and I would be love to be able to sit down with the team . . . and see if a change should be made."
The Redskins moved to Washington in 1937 and have had the name ever since. Over the years other high schools, universities, colleges and professional sports teams have changed their name from the Redskins moniker, including Miami University in Ohio. Up until this point, team owner Dan Snyder has shown no signs of wanting to change the name or starting a discussion to do so.
Many fans argue that the name is traditional, but other groups have called for changes. According to the Washington Post, in 1992 a group of Native Americans filed a disparagement lawsuit against the Redskins brand, which was formally trademarked years earlier. D.C. resident Suzan Harjo, who was the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, led the group, but the case was lost on a technicality.
The Redskins logo that depicts an Indian has also been pointed out by critics, but the name change would likely result in a logo change as well.
The name change would not be something unprecedented in the city, as the Washington Wizards were formerly known as the Washington Bullets for many years before changing their nickname.
