02.11.2014
Team says request is "a little ironic"
One of those pushing for the change is Oklahoma Congressman Tom Cole.
Cole and Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell wrote a letter saying lawmakers will “definitely” look hard at the league’s tax-exempt status if they don’t comply.
The two raised the possibility in a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. "The National Football League can no longer ignore this and perpetuate the use of this name as anything but what it is: a racial slur," the letter states. "You're getting a tax break for educational purposes, but you're still embracing a name that people see as a slur and encouraging it," Cantwell told the New York Times.
Cantwell heads the Indian Affairs Committee, and Cole is a member of the Native American Caucus and one of two Native Americans in Congress.
The Washington Redskins have repeatedly said they will not change and claim the name is meant to honor Native Americans.
A team spokesman told the Times “with all the important issues Congress has to deal with, such as a war in Afghanistan to deficits to health care, don’t they have more important issues to worry about than a football team's name?"
He continued with a shot at Cole when he added “given the fact that the name of Oklahoma means 'red people' in Choctaw, this request is a little ironic.”
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