Raven Ziegler from Minneapolis protests the name nickname of the Washington team. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
Fifty U.S. Senators signed a letter last week urging the NFL to make Washington football team owner Dan Snyder change the team’s name, and now dozens of organizations are calling on NFL players to step forward and join the chorus.
In a letter sent from the Oneida Indian Nation, the National Congress of American Indians, and 76 other Native American, civil rights, and religious organizations to every player in the NFL, the groups are asking players to be on the “right side of history,” in condemning the team’s name.
“Throughout history, athletes have played a pivotal role in courageously using their platforms to support civil rights crusades, and the NFL’s players are uniquely positioned to help finally stop the league from promoting this dictionary-defined racial slur,” Ray Halbritter, spokesperson for the Oneida Indian Nation said in a release. “This slur, which was first made the name of the team by avowed segregationist George Preston Marshall, has no place in modern society, and medical studies have shown that it is having negative cultural, psychological and social effects on Native Americans. NFL players, many of whom are people of color, should not be forced by the league to promote this racial slur on their uniforms.”
And some players have already spoke out in favor of changing the team’s name. Seattle Seahawks Cornerback Richard Sherman has spoke ill of the team’s name to TIME, while Washington football team legends and Hall of Famers Art Monk and Darrell Green have both said Snyder should consider changing the team’s name because it offends Native Americans.
Take a look at the full letter below:
