[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Pages 11183-11184]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     WASHINGTON FOOTBALL TEAM NAME

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, finally, yesterday the U.S. District Court 
for the Eastern District of Virginia affirmed what Native Americans 
have been saying for decades--the Washington football team name is 
disparaging. It is racist and morally objectionable, and it should be 
changed now.
  U.S. District Court Judge Gerald Bruce Lee sustained the Patent and 
Trademark Office's decision that the Washington football team name 
should not be protected by a Federal trademark registration. That is 
good news. But how did the Redskins respond? Sorry to use that name. I 
made a mistake. How did the Washington football team respond? By 
saying: Well, our football team is worth a lot of money, and as part of 
that value, the Redskins name is worth some money.
  I mean, does Daniel Snyder have enough money? I think so, without 
disparaging the group of Indians we have in Nevada--22 separate tribal 
entities in Nevada. They do not like this. Snyder tried a couple of 
things--bought them a car and thought they would back off and no longer 
object. They saw that one coming, and they said: No, you keep the car.
  What the judge did yesterday is good news. The Federal Government 
should not protect a team or company that takes pride in hearing a 
racial slur every time their name is mentioned.
  While the ruling is a step in the right direction, this battle is not 
over. Ultimately, the response will rest with the owner, Dan Snyder, a 
multibillionaire. The U.S. Government cannot change his team's name; 
only he can. For far too long, owner Snyder has tried to hide behind 
tradition, but yesterday's ruling makes clear that his franchise's name 
only fosters a tradition of racism, bigotry, and intolerance.
  I admire so very much the Republican Governor of South Carolina. She

[[Page 11184]]

has all the conservative credentials anyone needs, and after that 
terrible incident at a church in her State, she said the Confederate 
flag is going to go. Yesterday, after a long debate, as I understand 
it, the South Carolina Legislature said no more public display of the 
flag. So tradition is not the name of the game. Fairness--not racism, 
not bigotry, not intolerance--is the game.
  Dan Snyder should do the right thing and change the team's name. 
There is no place for that kind of tradition in the National Football 
League, and there is certainly no place for it in our great country.
  Mr. President, I apologize to my friend the chairman of the committee 
for taking so much time.

                          ____________________