Photo by Matt Cohen.
The campaign to get the Washington football team to change its name and mascot is growing—with more than 100 Native American, civil rights, and religious organizations joining the cause—but it seems as though the strategies are growing stagnate.
At a press conference today, Change the Mascot—a grassroots campaign led by the Oneida Indian Nation—announced its next steps, which involves more of the same: sending letters.
“This is a campaign against an institutional racial slur,” Ray Halbritter, a representative of the Oneida Indian Nation, said during today’s conference. Halbritter then announced that the Change the Name campaign will be sending an individual letter to each NFL team owner, urging them to stand against the Washington football team name and pressure owner Dan Snyder to change the name.
At this point, it seems as though the Change the Mascot campaign is struggling to find a more impactful strategy than sending letters. Earlier this month, they sent a similar letter to TV and radio sports broadcasters urging them not to use the team’s name during broadcasts. They’ve previously sent letters to NFL players, politicians, and, of course, Snyder.
But a new bill that Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) plans to introduce might put more pressure on the NFL to force Snyder to change the team’s name than another letter. The legislation would eliminate the NFL’s tax-exempt status as long as it refuses to address the Washington football team name change controversy.
“It’s time for the NFL to join the rest of American in the 21st century,” Cantwell said at today’s press conference. “We have a solemn duty to uphold what’s right.”
Echoing Cantwell’s soon-to-be introduced bill, the letter says that “as one of the 31 owners of the National Football League, you are part of an institution that has been granted special tax and regulatory treatment by the United States government. The letter goes on to say that “under the league’s bylaws, the league is empowered to initiate disciplinary action against any ‘owner, shareholder, partner or holder of interest in a member club (who) is guilty of conduct detrimental to the welfare of the League or professional football.'”
Also present during today’s press conference was D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, who voiced her continued support for the Change the Name campaign, saying that “our hometown of D.C. stands solemnly with you.”
Recently, Snyder announced plans to build a new stadium, which led many to speculate if he’ll try to bring the team back to D.C. When asked if D.C. would welcome the team back without changing their name, Norton said she didn’t think so.
“I would make every move possible to make sure they can’t come back with that name.”
