FCNL opposes the Washington Football Team’s continued usage of a racial slur in their team name.

Our shared beliefs guide us to treat all people with dignity and respect. We believe that football fans in the Washington, DC area want only the best for their team, including a name that reflects their values, not controversy.

Under the Trademark Act of 1946, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office cannot register a trademark that disparages people—living or dead. There is no question that the team name is disparaging to Native Americans, and is offensive to many others. For many years, national and local organizations and Native American tribes have voiced their opposition to the name, including the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) and the NAACP. Delegate Eni Faleomavaega (American Somoa) has described the term as a reference to “the historical practice of trading Native American Indian skins and body parts as bounties and trophies.”

Updates

October 2013

NCAI released a report detailing the harmful impacts of “Indian” sports mascots. The report provides evidence concerning the racist and disparaging history of the R-word and demonstrates a well-established national movement to end the use of offensive mascots

June 2014

The U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board cancelled six trademarks held by the Washington D.C. football team, making it difficult (if the ruling stands) for the team’s owners to profit from sales bearing the R*dskin trademark. The 1946 Lanham Act denies registration of trademarks that “disparage” an identifiable group of people. One month earlier, 50 Senators sent a letter to Commissioner Roger Goodell, urging him to change the team’s name.

What happens now?

The team will appeal the ruling, asserting that the trademark law applies only at the time when it is registered, not decades later.

This article is based in part on a January 2014 letter signed by 14 faith organizations, including FCNL