To say the debate over the name of the Washington NFL franchise continues would be to assume that it remains on the front burner. For long stretches, it resides not just on the back burner, but on the other side of the kitchen from the stove.
For months, not much had been said about it. Now, in the days after the team filed a federal appeals court brief arguing that the trademark protection should be preserved because the United States Patent and Trademark Office has approved way more offensive and disparaging names, Adidas has offered to help high-school teams design uniforms not based on Native American nicknames — and the Commander in Chief once again has suggested that Daniel Snyder make a change.
“I don’t know if Adidas made the same offer to a certain NFL team here in Washington, but they might want to think about that as well,” Obama said, via TheHill.com.
Obama’s remarks came during a White House Tribal Nations Conference. He previously recommended consideration of a name change in 2013.
“If you’re living in a society that devalues your culture or perpetuates stereotypes, you may be devaluing yourself,” Obama said. “We all need to do more to ensure that our young people feel supported and respected.”
The battle lines at the NFL level were drawn months ago, with no real middle ground between those who want to keep the name and those who want to see it changed. The debate will remain on the front burner, the back burner, and elsewhere until a change happens, at which point the issue will linger for years thereafter, with plenty of fans of the team refusing to acknowledge the new name.
