NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell rejected a letter from U.S. Congress members asking for the Washington Redskins to change their name. Goodell wrote that the Redskins name wasn't an attempt "to denigrate Native Americans or offend any group," and the name embodied a positive meaning.
"The Washington Redskins name has thus from its origin represented a positive meaning distinct from any disparagement that could be viewed in some other context," Goodell wrote to McCollum. "For the team's millions of fans and customers, who represent one of America's most ethnically and geographically diverse fan bases, the name is a unifying force that stands for strength, courage, pride and respect."
Congresswoman Betty McCollum and nine other members from the U.S. House of Representatives wrote Goodell in May asking for the Redskins to change their name, which some view as derogatory to Native Americans. McCollum, co-chair of the Congressional Native American Caucus, urged Goodell to "take a stand against the use of the word 'redskin' as the Washington franchise's name," according to the Star Tribune.
"It is shameful that Dan Snyder and the NFL continue to exploit for profit a racial slur that demeans millions of native Americans," McCollum wrote in May. "This entire issue could end tomorrow with a simple decision by Mr. Snyder to change his football team's names to any of a million different mascots that would offend no one."
Redskins owner Dan Snyder has said he will "never" change the team's name. Goodell doesn't believe Snyder should have to, citing recently conducted polls in his June 5 letter. The Annenberg Public Policy Center found fewer than 10 percent of surveyed Native Americans found the Redskins name offensive. An Associated Press poll from April found that only 11 percent of general public felt the name should be changed.
Goodell also attached remarks from both Chief Steven Dodson, an American Inuit chief and Maryland resident, and retired Chief Robert Green of the Patawomeck Tribe of Virginia to the letter. Both Native Americans supported the Redskins name.
"People are speaking for Native Americans that aren't Native American," Dodson said in May. "Being a full-blooded Indian with my whole family behind me, we had a big problem with all the things that were coming out [of the discussion]. ... They were misrepresenting the Native American nation.
"We don't have a problem with [the name] at all; in fact we're honored. We're quite honored."
Goodell's full letter, as well as the attached remarks, is available here.
