It's not often that Congress gets involved in the affairs of sports teams, but in the case of the NFL's Washington Redskins franchise, the name of the franchise was something that legislators have taken issue with as of late.
According to NFL.com via the Associated Press, 10 members of Congress sent letters to Redskins owner Dan Snyder, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Fedex, which sponsors the team, and more than 30 other NFL teams that asked for the Redskins to change their names.
The team has maintained the Redskins name since they moved to Washington D.C. from Boston, Mass., in 1937-ironically, where they were known as the Boston Braves, then Redskins.
According to the Washington Post, the 10 members of Congress who sent the letters were Eni F.H. Faleomavaega, D-American Samoa, Tom Cole, R-Okla., Betty McCollum, D-Minn., Raul M. Grijalva, D-Ariz., Gwen Moore, D-Wis., Michael M. Honda, D-Calif., Donna M. Christensen, D-Virgin Islands, Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., Barbara Lee, D-Calif., and Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-District of Columbia.
In the letter, the representatives argued that the term "Redskins"-used to describe Native Americans-was a derogatory slur and was inappropriate with this day and age.
"Native Americans throughout the country consider the 'R-word' a racial, derogatory slur akin to the 'N-word' among African Americans or the 'W-word' among Latinos," the letter read.
"Such offensive epithets would no doubt draw wide-spread disapproval among the NFL's fan base. Yet the national coverage of Washington's NFL football team profits from a term that is equally disparaging to Native Americans."
"In this day and age, it is imperative that you uphold your moral responsibility to disavow the usage of racial slurs. The usage of the ["R-word"] is especially harmful to Native American youth, tending to lower their sense of dignity and self-esteem. It also diminishes feelings of community worth among the Native American tribes and dampens the aspirations of their people," the letter continued.
However, Snyder and other team officials have stood by the franchise name, saying that they were happy with it and had no plans to change the team's name.
"I think it's a non-issue and it's been a non-issue for decades. We really don't get the talk that other people get because we hear from our fans. And our fans will always be our fans of the Washington Redskins," Redskins general manager Bruce Allen said last week to reporters in Richmond.
Snyder, a lifelong Redskins fan, went so far as to state that to USA Today in an interview earlier this month.
"We will never change the name of the team," Snyder said. "As a lifelong Redskins fan, and I think that the Redskins fans understand the great tradition and what it's all about and what it means, so we feel pretty fortunate to be just working on next season."
Snyder might be on to something regarding fan support for the name. According to a recent poll from the Associated Press, 79 percent of those polled-four in five Americans-do not find the name "Redskins" offensive for the team, while only 11 percent thought the name should be changed while eight percent were unsure and the remaining two percent didn't answer.