Amanda Blackhorse, MSW, 2009, and others recently petitioned the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to revoke the Washington team’s trademark on the name Washington R*dsk*ns.
The Washington NFL team needs to change its name. I am a proud member of the Navajo Nation and it demeans me and other Native Americans. I find the casual use of the term r*dsk*ns disparaging, racist, and hateful. The use of the name and symbols used by the Washington football team perpetuate stereotypes of Native American people and it disgusts me to know that the Washington NFL team uses a racial slur for its name. If you were to refer to a Native American, would you call him or her a “redskin?” Of course not, just as you would not refer to an African-American as the n-word, or refer to Jew as a “k*ke” or a Mexican as a “w*t-b**k” or an Asian-American as a “g**k,” unless you’re a racist.