And Now We Have A Letter From Congress Over The Redskins

((HT: ESPN/Olbermann))

In a letter written by Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Representative Tom Cole (R-Okla.), the complaints are ramping up over the use of the Washington Redskins nickname. Cantwell is chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee and Cole is a senior member of the appropriations committee -- and a member of the Chickasaw Tribe.

Read the letter in full here

Cantwell told the New York Times newspaper the tax-exempt status will be looked at if things don't change...

"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 Emmarie Huetteman of the Times.

More from Huetteman on the Cantwell-Cole letter:

“The National Football League is on the wrong side of history,” they wrote. “It is not appropriate for this multibillion-dollar 501(c)(6) tax-exempt organization to perpetuate and profit from the continued degradation of tribes and Indian people.”

The letter also refers to a recent case, unrelated to the N.F.L., in which the Patent and Trademark Office rejected a trademark application that included the term “redskin” because, the office said, it is a “derogatory slang term.” Ms. Cantwell said Sunday that lawmakers would consider the roles of that office, the Federal Communications Commission and other agencies in urging the team to change its name.

Commissioner Roger Goodell actually said in a recent press conference that 8 out of 10 who were asked thought the Redskins nickname was fine...

The HQ, on the other hand, would love to know the sample identified for this survey... and the Redskins are still the Redskins in all of this. Daniel Snyder, despite all the revenue that can be gained from having two nickname streams, is adamant he is not changing his team's moniker...

Redskins spokesman Tony Wyllie sent out this statement in an e-mail: "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? And given the fact that the name of Oklahoma means 'Red People' in Choctaw, this request is a little ironic."

So, yes, he really did go there...

Here's Chris Cooley discussing the idea with KO, who disagrees with 47 on his thoughts...


As do a lot of us in this topic...