Senator Harry Reid urged the Washington Redskins to change their name on Thursday. He described the name of the NFL team as short-sighted and also said that the team was denigrating an entire population of people in Washington.
The NFL team recognizes Reid’s right to express his opinion, but said that they strongly disagree with him based on what they hear from generations of fans.
Both President Barack Obama and House Minority Leader, Nancy Pelosi, agreed that the team should consider a name change.
USA Today reported that the Oneida Indian Nation, which runs a national campaign for changing the Redskins mascot, responded to the team’s refusal by stating that the team is obviously not worried about those who are deeply offended and hurt by the use of the R-word.
Reid is not the first politician to bring attention to the team’s name, according to The Huffington Post. In May, 10 members of Congress tried to get Dan Synder, the team owner, to change the name of the football team.
The attachment to the team’s name has certainly overridden the concern that the Oneida Nation has about the name Redskins. As Reid stated to the press Thursday, we would not be able to call the team the Washington Blackskins, but because Native Americans are such a minority, not many people are concerned with it.