Raven Ziegler from Minneapolis protests the name nickname of the Washington team. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
Seems like it’s been a while since a politician chimed in on the Washington football team name controversy. But House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi stepped up yesterday to ensure we didn’t go too long without some sort of call to change the name.
Speaking before a National Congress of American Indians event yesterday, Pelosi said that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office shouldn’t let the NFL keep the Washington football team trademark, CBS DC reports.
“We all respect freedom of speech, but the trademark office has rejected names which are considered offensive and they should do it now,” Pelosi said. “They can keep their name on the team, but when it comes to all the stuff—that’s serious money. So I think that is one path that we can go.”
This isn’t the first time Pelosi has gone on the record against the Washington football team’s name. Last November, Pelosi told Buzzfeed’s John Stanton that she thinks the team should change its name and hold a contest to decide what the name should be. “I don’t know if there’s any will to change the name,” Pelosi joked at the time, “but maybe a good enough name, you never know.”
At yesterday’s event, Pelosi also said that it’s “long overdue” that the team change their name. And earlier this year, the U.S. Patent Office found the name to be offensive in a rejection for a pork rind brand name application.
Recently, two Maryland delegates proposed a resolution to urge owner Dan Snyder to change the team’s name. But we all know his stance on the controversy: He’s “NEVER” changing it.