NFL to endorse name change of Redskins

Senators have signed on to a letter sent to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell that calls on the National Football League (NFL) to formally endorse a name change of the Washington football franchise.

The call to action marks the largest Congressional endorsement of a name change for the football team in the nation’s capital.

In the letter led by Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and signed by 47 other senators the senators urged the NFL to follow the example of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in sending a clear message against racism in sports.

Civil rights organizations and tribes across the nation have called on the Washington football team to change its name.

Other prominent national organizations in support of a name change include the NAACP, National Council of La Raza, American Association of People with Disabilities, the ACLU, National Organization for Women, and the Anti-Defamation League.

Tribal organizations representing more than 2 million Native Americans and more than 300 tribes have called on the NFL for a name change.

They include the Oneida Indian Nation, which launched a national “Change the Mascot” campaign to end the use of a racial slur in the team’s name.

The National Congress of American Indians, the largest organization representing Native Americans passed a resolution in October in support of a name change.

A name change has also been endorsed by United South and Eastern Tribes, and the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, and the Navajo Nation.