Uh oh, Redskins fans.
Owner Dan Snyder - that glimmering bastion of hope, promise and quality football decisions - is on the verge of yet another monumentally superb organizational maneuver that will shine a blazing, magnificent light on the team and have you all singing his praises, like some angelic, pigskin choir, once again.
Or not.
Supported by a recent decision from a federal judge, Snyder and the Washington Redskins will be filing a lawsuit against five Native Americans who complained about the team name to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, according to Jessica Gresko of the Associated Press in an article appearing on Philly.com.
The team, which has used the Redskins name since 1933, asked the judge to reverse the removal of protections of six trademarks originally registered between 1967 and 1990, citing a violation of free speech rights.
In June, a trademark office board decided to cancel some of the Redskins' trademarks, citing federal regulations against protecting words and images that are disparaging or offensive. Losing said trademark protections could allegedly cost the team tens of millions of dollars per year.
"The team could have challenged the ruling in appellate court in Washington, but sought help instead in a venue that gives it more options, by going to a trial court to sue the Native Americans who complained in the first place."
Judge Gerald Bruce Lee, during a Friday hearing, suggested that it would be "unprecedented to dismiss the team's lawsuit" against the five Native Americans," according to Gresko, allowing the suit to move forward through the court system.
"A lawyer for the Native Americans, Jesse Witten, argued that his clients should be left out of the dispute and that the lawsuit against them should be dismissed," Gresko reports. "But team attorney Robert Raskopf said Amanda Blackhorse and the other defendants belong in court because they're the ones who filed the petition."
The movement to change the team name and mascot has heated up this year, but Snyder has adamantly insisted that he will not change either.
