For a long time now, Native-Americans (and many others for that matter), have been questioning and challenging the Washington Redskins’ nickname. The term “Redskins” is one that can be extremely offensive to many Native Americans.
Those who voiced strong opinions opposing the name just picked up a giant victory. Today, The United States Patent and Trademark Office has canceled the Washington Redskins trademark registration, calling the football team’s name “disparaging to Native Americans,” according to WashingtonPost.com.
This specific case was filed by five Native-Americans and appeared before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. The two to one ruling came today as the U.S. Patent Office ruled that the Washington Redskins name is "disparaging of Native Americans" and federal trademarks for the name have to be canceled, according to FoxNews.com.
Despite strong momentum that has occurred in this story over the past couple of years, Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder has been on record as stating the Redskin name will never change, and nobody can force him to do so. Most fans of this historic franchise loved those words from their outspoken owner, but even the more optimistic skins fan can now see the handwriting on the wall.
The controversy comes simply because of how historic and long-standing this franchise is. They have been with this name since their inception in 1932 and have played more than 1,000 NFL games with it.
While some say the word “Redskin” is a very hurtful and demeaning term, other actually claim it is one of simple explanation as it refers to the color of the body paint used by some tribes. Despite the two opposing views on what the term actually means, we all know what the end result is going to be.
Let’s face it, we live in a time of great sensitivity. There is the majority, and the minority. Always wanting and trying to do the politically correct thing has complicated things in this country especially. There are double-standards, but at this point it is to be expected.
Even if Daniel Snyder is the last person in the world who realizes this name is not offensive to anybody, quite frankly it does not matter. This name will be changed, and it will happen very soon (in the next year or two). Sometimes these fights are not worth fighting, despite how rich a tradition it carries.