Fifty senators have written NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, petitioning him to call on the Washington Redskins franchise to change their name.
The senators who signed deem Redskins a racial slur offensive to Native Americans.
“Today, we urge you and the National Football League to send the same clear message as the NBA did: that racism and bigotry have no place in professional sports,” the letter read. “It’s time for the NFL to endorse a name change for the Washington, D.C. football team.
“The despicable comments made by Mr. Sterling have opened up a national conversation about race relations. We believe this conversation is an opportunity for the NFL to take action to remove the racial slur from the name of one of its marquee franchises.”
The letter comes on the heels of President Barack Obama saying he’d consider changing the name if it was his team and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid predicting the Redskins name would be dropped within the next three years.
All but five democrats signed the letter and it was not circulated among republicans.
Redskins owner Dan Snyder has repeatedly said he has no intentions of changing the name.
[H/T: Politico]