Quantcast
Published On: Mon, Feb 10th, 2014

Two members of Congress call on NFL to pressure Washington Redskins name change

Two members of Congress will reportedly send a letter to National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell today calling for the league to put pressure on the Washington Redskins to change the team’s nickname. 

Redskins offensive? photo Katidid213 via wmc

Redskins offensive? photo Katidid213 via wmc

The Washington Post reports that the letter, signed by Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., asks Goodell to “to take a formal position in support of a name change.”

The letter goes on to add that the league “is on the wrong side of history. It is not appropriate for this multibillion dollar… tax-exempt organization to perpetuate and profit from the continued degradation of tribes and Indian people,” the Post reports. 

Cantwell is the chair of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, while Cole is one of two Native Americans in Congress. 

The Redskins franchise, which was founded in 1932 and has been based in Washington since 1937, has been under increasing pressure to change its name even though history shows that the mascot was created to honor Native Americans.

 More on that story HERE

Redskins owner Dan Snyder has insisted that he would never change the name while he owned the team.

Team spokesman Tony Wylie responded to the letter in a statement to the Post: “With all the important issues Congress has to deal with … don’t they have more important issues to worry about than a football team’s name? And given the fact that the name of Oklahoma means ‘Red People’ in Choctaw, this request is a little ironic.”

Goodell has resisted calls to change the team’s name. At a news conference during Super Bowl week, Goodell responded to a question about the name by saying, “Eight out of 10 Americans in the general population would not like us to change the name. So we are listening. We are being respectful to people who disagree. But let’s not forget this is the name of a football team.”

On the DISPATCH: Headlines  Local  Opinion

Subscribe to Weekly Newsletter

* indicates required
/ ( mm / dd ) [ALL INFO CONFIDENTIAL]

About the Author

- Roxanne "Butter" Bracco began with the Dispatch as Pittsburgh Correspondent, but will be providing reports and insights from Washington DC, Maryland and the surrounding region. Contact Roxie aka "Butter" at theglobaldispatch@gmail ATTN: Roxie or Butter Bracco

Displaying 1 Comments
Have Your Say
  1. Latest on Redskins name: Lawmakers write letter to NFL commissioner; team … – Fox News | Amazing News says:

    […] an insult, not honorChicago TribuneLawmakers: 'Redskins' is 'insulting'MSNBCThe Global Dispatch -CBS Localall 72 news […]

Leave a comment

XHTML: You can use these html tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

like_us_on_facebook

 

The Global Dispatch Facebook page- click here

Movie News Facebook page - click here

Television News Facebook page - click here

Weird News Facebook page - click here 

DISPATCH RADIO

dispatch_radio

THE BRANDON JONES SHOW

brandon_jones_show-logo

Archives