NFL commissioner Roger Goodell responded the 10 members of Congress who urged Washington owner Daniel Snyder and the NFL to change the Redskins nickname because it is offensive to Native Americans. Goodell defended the use of the name by the franchise in a letter of his own to the congress members.
"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 writes in the letter. "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."
The Congress members sent Snyder, Goodell and the other 31 NFL teams letters on May 13 urging for a change. Goodell's responded on June 5, while a digitial copy of his letter to congress was posted on Indian Country Today Media Network.
Congress members leading the group include Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) and Tom Cole (R-Okla.), as well as leaders of the Congressional Native American Caucus. McCollum and Eni Faleomavaega (D-American Samoa) responded to Goodell's letter with their own opinions, according to the Indian Country Today Media Network.
McCollum called Goodell's response "another attempt to justify a racial slur on behalf of Dan Snyder and other NFL owners who appear to be only concerned with earning ever larger profits, even if it means exploiting a racist stereotype of Native Americans."
Faleomavaega added that Goodell "completely missed the point regarding the Washington franchise's name change."
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