Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder is adamant that the team will never change its name.
In the face of mounting criticism over the team name's perceived racial connotations, Snyder made his stance clear to USA Today.
"We will never change the name of the team," Snyder said on Tuesday. "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."
A group of five Native Americans challenged the Redskins' name before the Trademark Trial and Appeal board in 2006. The group claims the team name is derogatory to Native Americans and wants the board to revoke the Redskins' trademark of the name. The last hearing took place in March and is expected to take at least a year to resolve.
Losing trademark protection of the Redskins name would financially hurt Washington with marketing and apparel sales. While the board cannot force Washington to change their name, the group that filed suit hopes the loss of money would provide enough incentive for the team to rename itself.
The prospect of losing their trademark didn't sway Snyder.
"We'll never change the name," he said. "It's that simple. NEVER — you can use caps."
D.C. councilman David Grasso said in May that he planned to introduce a non-binding resolution to have the Redskins to change their name to the "Redtails."
"We have to change it, and I'm calling on (owner) Dan Snyder and the NFL to step up and do the right thing," Grosso said.
A national poll conducted in May by the Associated Press indicated that most people are unoffended by the Redskins' name.
"Nearly four in five Americans don't think the team should change its name," according to the survey.
