A George Washington University law professor has filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) asking the agency to ban the word “Redskins,” the name of the Washington NFL team, and the agency is considering enacting that ban.
According to Huffington Post , the FCC received the petition calling the word “Redskins” obscene earlier this week. Professor John Banzhaf filed the petition, claiming that the word “Redskins” is hateful, derogatory, profane and offensive. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler says that he is inclined to agree with that assessment of the word “Redskins.”
“We’ll be looking at that petition, we will be dealing with that issue on the merits and we’ll be responding accordingly. There are a lot of names and descriptions that were used over time that are inappropriate today. And I think the name that is attributed to the Washington football club is one of those.”
The petition specifically asks the FCC to removed the license of Washington radio station WWXX – the station that broadcasts Redskins games – when it comes up for renewal, over the use of the word “Redskins,” according to News Max . If the FCC approves the petition, that would essentially create a de facto ban on the word “Redskins” from all TV and radio broadcasts across the U.S. The word “Redskins” would join the offensive N-Word, as well as a list of other profanities, that would trigger a fine if used on the air.
Activist could delay broadcast licenses over Redskins name http://t.co/Ipl9Chc53M pic.twitter.com/xGjJDoT7nf
— John Banzhaf (@ProfBanzhaf) September 25, 2014
While activist groups, some members of the U.S. Senate, a number of football fans, and even President Barack Obama himself have called on Redskins owner Dan Snyder to change the name of the team, Snyder has steadfastly stuck with the name Redskins, saying the name actually honors Native Americans. Meanwhile, lines are being drawn over the name: The Washington Post editorial board has stopped using the word “Redskins” in its editorial pages, and CBS football analyst Phil Simms and Super Bowl-winning coach Tony Dungy have both said they will no longer use the word “Redskins”; on the other side of the issue are people inclined to side with former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka, who has said that the Redskins name issue is “so stupid it’s appalling.” And in June, the “Redskins” trademark protection was removed, according to this Inquisitr report.
Do you believe the FCC should ban the use of the word “Redskins” over TV and radio? Let us know what you think in the Comments.