Washington Redskins Facing Uphill Battle To Keep Team Name

The Washington Redskins received some more negative news on Wednesday regarding the trademark of the team’s name. Federal judge Gerald Bruce Lee ordered the Patent and Trademark Office to cancel the Washington Redskins’ trademark, citing that the name could be considered derogatory to Native Americans.

The team can continue to use the Redskins name, but it will lose legal protection that goes along with the registration of a trademark. The Redskins were suing to reverse a previous ruling by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. The team’s argument was that cancelling the trademark was not legal as it affected the Redskins’ First-Amendment rights.

While the team is allowed to appeal the decision, the ruling puts more pressure on owner Daniel Snyder, who has stated multiple times that the Redskins wouldn’t be changing their name.

Last week, news leaked that Interior Secretary Sally Jewell told D.C. mayor Muriel E. Bowser that the National Park Service, which owns the lot that former Redskins’ home, RFK Stadium, sits on, wouldn’t allow construction of a new stadium unless the team changes its name. The decision has forced Snyder to begin looking for land in Northern Virginia to build a new stadium for the team, which is looking to move from Landover, MD.

Over the past year or so, Snyder and the Redskins have begun to feel extreme heat from a number of different sources, including the federal government, to change the team name because it’s an offensive and insulting term to Native Americans.

Snyder’s contention is that the name is a term of honor and respect as William Henry “Lone Star“ Dietz, the team’s first coach whom the Redskins were named after to honor his Native American heritage, and Walter “Blackie“ Wetzel, a former president of the National Congress of American Indians and chairman of the Blackfeet Nation who helped design and approve the team’s logo, are reasons why the term shouldn’t be taken in a negative light.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens in the future. With the government bent on attacking Snyder’s pockets, it may get to a point where he’s forced to change the name. But for anyone who knows Snyder, he’s going to put up one heck of a fight.

Jason Fletcher is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @JasonFletcher, “Like” him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google+.