Native Tribe Seeks New Name for Washington Redskins

There is more to a name than the way it sounds. Washington Redskins, the name of Washington’s football team is reportedly hurting a group of people because of its attached racial slur. Officials of the National Football League (NFL) are meeting the American Native group that is crusading for the name change while a symposium last Monday was held to deliberate the issue.

Obama’s opinion

The name Washington Redskins has been in existence for 80 years now and its owner, Daniel Snyder asserted he would not go for any alteration. Nonetheless, President Barack Obama himself opined in a press interview that if he were in the shoes of Snyder, and he was aware that the name is offensive to a certain community, he would consider getting another name for the team. These words from the President gave hope to the Native American group that their campaign will be given attention and an action will follow suit to strike out the handle Redskins with another name.

Thankful representative

Ray Halbritter, head of the Oneida Indian Nation said that the meeting between the tribe and the NFL is a good sign that their campaign is hitting the right place. He expressed gratitude to the President for the consideration. He said that Obama is the first governing president that ever spoke about the possibility of changing the Washington football team’s name. Halbritter acknowledges that Obama’s view on the name change is notable. Despite its historical significance, the name must be changed because it is causing discomfort to the American Natives, Halbritter added. He also pointed out that even though NFL people have signified their willingness to talk about the issue, they were not present in the symposium called by the American Natives group.

Radio airtime exposure

The Change the Mascot movement was given exposure last month via radio ads that were aired in Washington and other football venues where the Washington team is playing this term. Following the launching of the campaign, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell who initially stood his ground on the retaining of the team’s name, modified his view. Goodell announced on Chad Dukes’ The LaVar Arrington Show, which is broadcast on 106.7 The Fan in Washington, that the League must pay attention to the different outlook of people from different sides.

People’s voice

According to a poll conducted by the Washington Post last June, about two-thirds of Washington D.C. residents were not in favor of the proposed change of name. Even then, eight out of 10 respondents voiced out that it did not really matter if the Redskins changed their name.

Team owner

Although the clamor by the American Natives is being given thought by NFL leaders and other sectors, Dan Snyder, owner of the team, is determined not to submit. In a recent interview, Snyder said that he would retain the name Redskins. He affirmed that even if the federal trademark lawsuit will prosper, his team will hold on to its name. Supporting the trademark lawsuit is a bill passed in Congress that trademark registrations using the mascot Redskins must be canceled.