House members introduce bill to ban Redskins trademark
Members of the House of Representatives, including Washington, D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton [D-DC], Rep. Raul Grijalva [D-CA] and Del. Eni Faleomavaega [D-American Samoa], have introduced a bill to strip the Washington Redskins of trademark protection for their name on the grounds that the name itself is offensive.
The bill, entitled the "Non-Disparagement of American Indians in Trademark Registrations Act of 2013" and authored by Faleomavaega, would end the Redskins trademark and prohibit trademark of any future names that insult Amerindians. The bill is the latest point of attack for opponents of the Redskins name. A new case has been brought before a federal trademark board in Alexandria, Virginia in which the plaintiffs are arguing the Redskins should be prevented from profiting off the team name, logo and all representations of such.
The bill, which is currently supported by only four Democrats -- two of whom have no voting power -- would seem to have little chance of success in the Republican-dominated House of Representatives. However, there is some GOP support for changing the name coming from one of only two Amerindian members of Congress.
Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., an enrolled member of the Chickasaw Nation, said on Thursday that he finds the name, a racial descriptor for indigenous Americans, deeply offensive and feels strongly that it should be changed.
