50 Senators Call on Washington Football Team to Change Name

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Fifty senators have called out NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, urging the league to change the racist name of Washington’s football team. Referencing the NBA’s strong response to racist Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, they wrote in a letter to Goodell, “Now is the time for the NFL to act. The Washington, DC football team is on the wrong side of history. What message does it send to punish slurs against African Americans while endorsing slurs about Native Americans?”

The main letter, first given to the New York Times, was circulated by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and signed by 46 other Democrats and two independents. (Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), ever the lone wolf, decided to send his own letter also calling for a name change.) Virginia’s pair of senators were among the five Dems who didn’t sign; the letter was not circulated among Republicans.

The NFL released a statement in response that defended the name, but continued the softening of the league’s tone toward critics: “The intent of the team’s name has always been to present a strong, positive and respectful image. The name is not used by the team or the NFL in any other context, though we respect those that view it differently.” The team itself declined to comment, though owner Dan Snyder can rest easy knowing he was absolved of racism months ago.

Read the full letter below:

 

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We need to start raising significantly more in donations from our online community of readers, especially from those who read Mother Jones regularly but have never decided to pitch in because you figured others always will. We also need long-time and new donors, everyone, to keep showing up for us.

In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

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