Phil Simms, the lead commentator for CBS, is planning to avoid saying "Redskins" during the team's nationally televised game against the New York Giants on Thursday night, Yahoo! Sports reported.
Last month, Simms told The Associated Press that he would refer to the team simply as "Washington" during the broadcast.
While Simms maintains that he isn't passing judgment or taking sides in the ongoing controversy surrounding the team's nickname, he did note that he was sensitive to complaints that the term is offensive.
Jim Nantz, Simms' broadcast partner and play-by-play announcer, said that it's "not my job to take a stance."
Simms is yet another media member to join the growing movement to stop using the term "Redskins." Other sports figures that have said they will stop using the nickname include Bill Simmons, Tony Dungy and several editorial staff members of The Washington Post.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office ruled in June that the team name is not subject to trademark protection because "based on the evidence properly before us...these (trademark) registrations must be canceled because they were disparaging to Native Americans at the respective times they were registered."
The franchise has come under fire from some who believe the term is offensive towards Native Americans. However, team owner Dan Snyder has repeatedly stated that there are no plans to change the team's name.
"It's just historical truths, and I'd like them to understand, as I think most do, that the name really means honor, respect," Snyder told ESPN's John Barr.
"A Redskin is a football player. A Redskin is our fans. The Washington Redskins fan base represents honor, represents respect, represents pride. Hopefully winning," Snyder said. "And, and, it, it's a positive. Taken out of context, you can take things out of context all over the place. But in this particular case, it is what it is. It's very obvious."
