Recently, the U.S. Patent office cancelled several trademark registrations for the Washington Redskins organization because they found the name to be "disparaging to Native Americans." This is a huge step in the right direction in leveraging Washington's owner Dan Snyder into changing the team name to something not so blatantly racist. I use the word leveraging because that is the only way that Mr. Snyder will change the name. No amount of reasoning or pleading will make him understand how offensive his team's moniker really is.
Last year the President of the United States said if he were in his shoes and knew the name offended a group of people, he would change the name. 50 United States Senators... fifty... sent a letter to the NFL pleading for them to take action against Washington's organization for its overt use of a racial slur. Larry King recently interviewed Terry Bradshaw and they both agreed the name should be changed. A high school in Oregon has recently changed its name from the Redskins to the Red Hawks. Churches across the nation have urged boycotts of Washington's football team, and the list goes on and on. "Never," that all Dan has to say about it.
If the President, half of the sitting U.S Senators, and every living Native American cannot convince you that the name should be changed, then I suppose financial leveraging is the only viable option. Hopefully now that every Tom, Dick, and Harry can print up Washington's logo without worrying about penalty or profit sharing, the message will get through. Nonetheless, it is a pathetic display of moral compass that this is the manner in which the name change had to occur- if it even does.
How about this, Mr. Snyder? Walk up to Amanda Blackhorse, the Navajo woman spearheading the lawsuit against Washington's football team, and call her a Redskin to her face. It's just a harmless name that represents your football team's proud heritage right?
;)
