Photo by Kirsten Stanley

Officials at a private school in Bethesda are banning staff and students from wearing apparel featuring the name and logo of Washington’s football team.

A letter sent home to Green Acres School parents on August 25 announced a new policy that prohibits wearing clothing that “disparages a race of people,” according to Bethesda Magazine.

Out of about 320 students, at least one family at the school identifies as Native American, according to head of school Neal Brown. The family’s concerns led to staff discussions about wearing the team’s clothing.

Brown told the magazine that he wants to approach the change in a way that’s appropriate for his students, who range from pre-kindergarteners to eighth graders. He said staff can reiterate the policy to the parents of younger children and tell older students to cover up apparel with Green Acres shirts.

“We’re in no way trying to vilify anyone for rooting for the local football team because, in truth, I root for the local football team,” Brown said, adding that the rule only applies to Washington’s apparel for now.

Dan Snyder, the team’s owner, claims that the name “represents honor, represents respect, represents pride. Hopefully winning.”

In 2014, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office sided with a group of Native Americans and revoked the team’s trademark because of the name, which is currently a dictionary-defined slur, and a federal judge upheld the decision the following year.

But in June 2017, the group conceded after the Supreme Court ruled that the law permitting the patent office to turn down “disparaging” trademarks violates the First Amendment.

On the opposing side, Green Acres joins Sidwell Friends School in D.C., whose administration decided to support a resolution passed by the student government to ban the hometown team’s apparel at the private school in Northwest last year.