The Washington Redskins are the home team for the nation’s political center, yet they still have one of the most politically incorrect nicknames in professional sports.
Currently, the team plays its home games in Landover, Md., and its headquarters are in Ashburn, Va. If the team is to consider a move back into DC’s city limits, the mayor of DC, Vincent C. Gray, wants a nickname change to be discussed.
“I think that if they get serious with the team coming back to Washington, there’s no doubt there’s going to have to be a discussion about that,” Mayor Gray said after a news conference, “and of course the team is going to have to work with us around that issue.”
According to the Washington Post, Gray noted that the Washington Bullets (now the Wizards) and many other teams changed their insensitive or politically incorrect names.
“I think it has become a lightning rod, and I would be love to be able to sit down with the team … and see if a change should be made,” he said. “There’s a precedent for this, and I think there needs to be a dispassionate discussion about this, and do the right thing.”
Many fans and political figures in DC are passionate about the Redskins, and we know from past discussions that there would be plenty of resistance to a name change. We know that the current owner, Dan Snyder, has opposed a name change, so such a process would not be easy.
Helmet smack to Pro Football Talk
