A Redskins name change could precede the team's return to the city limits, at least if Mayor Vincent C. Gray has anything to say about it. The Washington Redskins name has come under fire before, but in this enlightened era, the name seems like a throwback to an earlier time when racial slurs where regarded with a lot more tolerance. Fortunately, those days are long gone, but the team owned by Daniel M. Snyder has managed to retain its offensive name.
According to a Jan. 9, 2013, report by The Washington Post, Gray is ready to put his foot down when it comes to a Redskins name change. If the team wants to relocate within the city walls, it may have to consider a kinder, gentler, 21st century name that doesn't hearken back to the unenlightened days of yore.
During a press conference, Gray said, "I think that if they get serious with the team coming back to Washington, there’s no doubt there’s going to have to be a discussion about that [Redskins name change], and of course the team is going to have to work with us around that issue."
In 2009, seven native Americans lost their bid to force the Washington Redskins to change its name, according to The Christian Science Monitor. The United States Supreme Court refused to hear the case after a federal appeals court ruled the native Americans were too late to challenge the team's trademark.
As William Shakespeare so eloquently wrote, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." It seems that a name change could have only positive connotations versus keeping it the same, but plenty of fans, and the team's owner, are certain to balk at the prospect.
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