Hail To Not The Washington NFL Team

Congress is apparently getting serious about Washington DC changing the name of its storied NFL franchise to something other than what it is now, and they're playing smashmouth.

Two members of Congress plan to send a strongly worded letter to the commissioner of the National Football League on Monday urging him to support changing the name of the Washington Redskins because it offends Native Americans and others, with one lawmaker saying she might reconsider the league’s tax-exempt status if it does not comply. 

Senator Maria Cantwell, Democrat of Washington State and chairwoman of the Indian Affairs Committee, said in an interview on Sunday that lawmakers would “definitely” examine the N.F.L.’s tax-exempt status and other ways to pressure the league. 

“You’re getting a tax break for educational purposes, but you’re still embracing a name that people see as a slur and encouraging it,” Ms. Cantwell said. 

In a copy of the letter released on Sunday, Ms. Cantwell and Representative Tom Cole, Republican of Oklahoma and a member of the Native American Caucus, chided the N.F.L. commissioner, Roger Goodell, for his recent remark that the name of the team, based near Washington, D.C., “honored” Native Americans. 

“The N.F.L. can no longer ignore this and perpetuate the use of this name as anything but what it is: a racial slur,” they said.

That tax-exempt status is the major reason why NFL owners are rich, rich, rich.  They don't have to pay taxes on these billion dollar franchises.  If Congress is going to reconsider that for the entire league, then this is going to hit them in the wallet.  Big time.

Personally I think all sports leagues should be stripped of tax exempt status.  They're billion dollar businesses and they need to be taxed like them.  Regardless, Washington needs to change the name.