Daniel Snyder, owner of the NFL’s Washington Redskins, has remained defiant in the face of growing pressure to change his team’s name on the grounds that it is degrading to Native Americans. Indeed, last year he declared that the Redskins will “NEVER” change their name at least as long as he is owner. But if George Washington University law professor John Banzhaf has his way, Snyder may not have a choice. This fall, the FCC is due to consider a petition from Banzhaf that could ban the use of the word on radio and television.
Banzhaf, who is also a public interest lawyer, is filing a challenge to the license of WWXX in Buckland, Virginia; a full-time satellite of the Redskins’ radio flagship, WTEM. Both stations are owned by Red Zebra Broadcasting, a company in which Snyder is controlling shareholder. Banzhaf argues that WWXX “deliberately, repeatedly, and unnecessarily” airs a racial slur several times a day, and that Snyder–in his capacity as owner of the Redskins–effectively forces media outlets around the country to air the name as well. It also argues that the use of the name amounts to airing obscene language, which the FCC would almost never permit in most circumstances. In making the claim that “Redskins” is obscene, Banzhaf cites a letter former FCC chairman Reed Hundt wrote to Snyder calling for Snyder to change his mind about the team’s name. Hundt wrote that as long as the name stays the same, Snyder is effectively forcing broadcasters to use obscenity on the air in order to refer to his team, which is “impermissible under law.”
Banzhaf told ThnkProgress that his goal is simple–create a situation where it no longer makes any economic sense to keep the name. The United States Patent and Trademark Office revoked several trademarks held by the Redskins in June because the nickname was derogatory. However, it didn’t force a name change. While an FCC directive against using the name on the air wouldn’t directly force a name change either, Banzhaf thinks that it would eventually force a change since it’s next to impossible to promote a team if no one can use its name on the air.
Banzhaf said that in many cases, the FCC doesn’t even need to take formal action to force broadcasters to act. Rather, it simply uses a “raised eyebrow” to suggest that it is concerned about what a broadcaster is doing. Rather than risk the potential headaches of having the renewal of their licenses bottled up, the media is usually “swift enough” to take the hint. In this case, Banzhaf thinks broadcasters will gradually start referring to the Redskins as “Washington” or “D. C.” on their own. That eyebrow may have been raised when FCC chairman Tim Wheeler said the FCC is considering Banzhaf’s petition. While Wheeler is on record as saying that Snyder should get rid of a nickname he called “offensive and derogatory,” he hasn’t said–yet–that he thinks it’s illegal.
To my mind, this is a conversation that the FCC needs to have. I was originally neutral on this issue until I found out that “Redskins” has the same connotation for Native Americans that the N-word has for blacks. No one would tolerate a team calling itself the “N-words,” “Sambos,” or “Pickaninnies,” and any league that allowed such a name probably wouldn’t be in business for very long. Frankly, “Redskins” is no different. For years, the Redskins have claimed that the name was intended to honor Native Americans, much like Native American nicknames such as “Chiefs,” “Braves,” “Seminoles,” etc. However, as Hundt pointed out in his letter to Snyder, the term “redskin” was coined by trappers who collected bounties for the scalps and skins of Native Americans who were slaughtered over the years to make room for whites. Tell me how that’s an “honor.”
It wouldn’t be the first time that government action has forced the Redskins to get their heads out of the sand. As any professional football fan knows, the Redskins’ founder, George Preston Marshall, was an open and unashamed racist. He pressured most of his fellow owners into releasing the few blacks they had on their rosters when he founded the Redskins in Boston in 1932 as the Boston Braves (they changed their name in 1933 and moved to Washington in 1937). Years after blacks were allowed to play in the NFL again in 1946, the Redskins remained lily white. It took a threat from Interior Secretary Stewart Udall and Attorney General Robert Kennedy to evict the Redskins from what is now RFK Stadium for them to integrate in 1962. If FCC action–direct or indirect–ultimately forces Snyder to back down and change the team’s name, that action, like the decision to force integration of the roster, would be long overdue.
Let us know your thoughts at the Liberal America Facebook page. Sign up for our free daily newsletter to receive more great stories like this one.
Darrell Lucus, also known as Christian Dem in NC at Daily Kos, is a radical-lefty Jesus-lover who has been blogging for change for a decade. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook.
