Congress is Now Pressuring the NFL and the Redskins to Change Their Name
Washington Post - Two members of Congress have written a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell urging Goodell and the league “to take a formal position in support of a name change” by the Washington Redskins. The letter by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) is to be sent Monday to Goodell. “The NFL can no longer ignore this and perpetuate the use of this name as anything but what it is: a racial slur,” Cantwell and Cole write in the letter. “It is clear that you haven’t heard the leading voices of this country — and not just Indian Country. 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 letter mentions the league’s tax-exempt status and says 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. It is time for the National Football League to formally support and push for a name change for the Washington football team.”
Finally, the offseason has begun! It’s not officially the NFL offseason until we are debating the racism of the name Redskins. I am on record as saying I legit don’t care if they change it or not. I see both sides of the argument, and I think they both make sense. Sometimes you see reports Native Americans hate the name, sometimes you see a report that they don’t care. Sometimes it’s an offensive slur, sometimes it’s a word of intimidation. At this point, we’ve attacked this thing at all angles. It doesn’t matter if I think they should change it, if you think they should change it, or if Native Americans even think they should change it. It’ll come down to money. The second a billionaire can’t continue to make billions, shit is going to change. This seems to be that first step. The good news for people who really care about the Skins name and never want them to change it is Roger Goodell. That guy is the most powerful person in the universe. We saw the Super Bowl, he controls the weather for fucks sake. So I am sure he will find a way to be like Missy Elliot and flip it and reverse it back onto Congress. Nobody crosses Goodell. Not congress, not mother nature, not anyone who likes safeties to be able to make tackles. Nobody.