The Washington Redskins continue to be a hot topic of discussion around the sports world recently, and not just because superstar quarterback Robert Griffin III continues to progress in his recovery from a serious knee injury he suffered in last season's playoffs.
According to multiple sources, ten members of Congress are pushing the organization to change the Redskins team name since it is offensive to many Native Americans. The controversy around whether or not Washington should in fact rename their legendary franchise has been a hot button issue for weeks and it seems as though it'll stay that way until something is done.
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As ESPN reports, members of Congress sent letters to Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder, the remaining 31 NFL teams and league commissioner Roger Goodell in the hopes that the name would be changed.
In the letter addressed to the aforementioned parties, members noted how the Redskins name should be reformed or altered since it is a racially charged word that compares in negative magnitude to some of the other horrible racial slurs that have been dealt with in the past.
The memo also said that failure to support the name change will not fulfill the NFL's 'Commitment to Diversity' goal since there is no place for racial slurs when aiming for diversity.
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. 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.
The overall objective of the diversity effort is to create a culturally progressive and socially reflective organization that represents, supports and celebrates diversity at all levels.
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While there are certainly many people supporting the idea of the Washington Redskins changing their team name, franchise owner Dan Snyder does not plan on altering the name, a belief he shared loud and clear earlier this month.
"We will never change the name of the team," Snyder said in an interview with USA Today. 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. We'll never change the name. It's that simple. NEVER, you can use caps."
Although the situation has seemed to elevate in publicity, the Los Angeles Times notes that there has been no reaction from the Redskins organization or anyone who received the letter.
As far as football is concerned, Washington fans have much to look forward to this season since the team is coming off its first playoff berth in 5 years after the Redskins won the 2012 NFC East Division title.
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While they fell to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Wild Card round, stud quarterback Robert Griffin III should be recovered from his knee injury by Week 1 and with plenty of weapons on the offensive side of the ball, Washington will once again be a team to watch throughout the upcoming 2013-2014 season.
Despite the excitement surrounding the football team, expect the talks regarding the potential name change to continue for the foreseeable future.
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