The Washington Redskins won't suddenly stop being the Redskins, but the latest development in the debate over a potential name change for the NFL's D.C.-based franchise has brought us one step closer to that seeming eventuality.
"A federal judge in the Eastern District of Virginia has agreed that the Washington Redskins should lose their federal trademark registration because the term is 'disparaging' to Native Americans," BuzzFeed's Lindsey Alder reported.
"In a statement issued to BuzzFeed News, attorney Jesse Witten - who represents the defendant, Navajo activist Amanda Blackhorse - called it 'a victory for human dignity and for my courageous clients who have waited so long for this ruling.'"
Washington filed a lawsuit in August in an attempt to overturn the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's decision to remove the trademark registration on the name.
Redskins president Bruce Allen issued a statement in the wake of the ruling, via the team's website.
"I am surprised by the judge's decision to prevent us from presenting our evidence in an open trial. We look forward to winning on appeal after a fair and impartial review of the case. We are convinced that we will win because the facts and the law are on the side of our franchise that has proudly used the name Redskins for more than 80 years."
Witten, of course, feels quite differently.
"This is a huge victory. Getting this ruling from a U.S. District judge is a watershed event," Witten said, via The Washington Post. "The team has been fighting this case so hard and leaving no stone unturned and scorching every square inch of earth that it's hard to imagine they will not appeal."
Even if the Redskins pursue the matter to the highest courts and lose, they can still seek trademark protections under state law. The team does not have to stop using the name, and it's unlikely this decision will alter Allen or team owner Dan Snyder's opinion on the matter - the franchise has been defending its name for more than two decades.
"This case is about humanizing the indigenous identity," said Blackhorse, who lives on the Navajo reservation in Arizona. "I have asked this many times before and have never heard a sensible answer - if people wouldn't dare call a Native American a 'redskin' because they know it is offensive, how can an NFL football team have this name?"
