Redskins Name Remains Hot Topic for Critics, Supporters, Elected Officials

The Loudoun Board of Supervisors again weighed in this week on the Washington Redskins name, passing a resolution in support of the team's right to choose its own brand.

For 80 years, professional football has had a team called the Redskins, a name that supporters call a badge of honor and symbol of pride, and that critics calls racist and derogatory.

In recent years, and in particular this year, the chorus of critics has grown as has the push back from those who call any controversy a lot of hooey, including Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder who has vowed the team would never change its name.

Established in 1932 as the Boston Braves, the team would change its name one year later to the Boston Redskins. In 1937, the team moved to DC – although it now plays home games in Landover, MD, and is headquartered in Ashburn, VA.

A movement by some Native Americans has been working for a couple of decades to get the name changed. Earlier this year, ten members of congress sent a letter to the team asking for a name change. President Barack Obama weighed in. Sports commentator Bob Costas called the name a “slur.” More recently the DC City Council weighed in, calling the name racist.

Team fans have pushed back hard, calling the controversy an overreaching attempt to force political correctness onto a team that considers the name an honor. A study cited by the team found that a significant majority of Native Americans do not oppose the name.

This week, in response to assertions by team lawyers that the name was a tribute to former coach Lone Star Dietz, a Sioux Indian, a story in The Washington Post raised questions about Dietz' heritage.

Thursday night in Minneapolis, where the Redskins played the Minnesota Vikings, protesters turned out.

One night earlier, the Loudoun Board of Supervisors passed a resolution in support of the team’s right to make its own branding decisions. Board members derided others for attempting to interfere with a private business decision, and pondered when other teams, such as the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, would have to change their names.

We’ve asked what you think about the name in the past. Regardless of your opinion of the name, do you think the team will be forced to find a new name, whether by law or public pressure? Or will the question fade in time?