Congress Blasts 'Redskins' Team Name, Says NFL "Is On The Wrong Side Of History"
Many people have voiced their concerns with the Washington NFL team's racist name, the Redskins, but now even Congress seems fed up.
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) joined together and wrote a letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell about the team name, saying that the league "can no longer ignore this and perpetuate the use of this name as anything but what it is: a racial slur." The letter was obtained by media outlets including the Washington Post.
"We also wish to register our objections to your pre-Super Bowl press conference on January 31, 2014, at which you defended the Washington team name as an "honor" to Native Americans. It is, in fact, an insult to Native Americans. We are calling on you and the National Football League to take a formal position in support of a name change."
Goodell's words in the pre-Super Bowl press conference were indeed just as disappointing as the letter indicated.
"I've been spending the last year talking to many of the leaders in the Native American communities," Goodell said at the time. "We are trying to make sure we understand the issues. Let me remind you: This is the name of a football team, a football team that's had that name for 80 years and has presented the name in a way that it has honored Native Americans."
The members of Congress continued to take shots at the NFL and its lack of action in responding to the many people who have expressed their displeasure with the name.
"It is clear that you haven't heard the leading voices of this country -- and not just Indian Country," the letter said. "Virtually every major civil rights organization in America has spoken out in opposition to this name including the NAACP, the Anti-Defamation League, the Rainbow Coalition, and the League of United Latin American Citizens."
"The National Football 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 letter also said.