Redskins Name Change Called For By D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray
Washington, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray called for the Redskins to change their name at a press conference on Wednesday.
The mayor backs criticism from objectors that the name is racist and that the time has come for change or at least a discussion on the issue.
"I think that if they get serious with the team coming back to Washington, there's no doubt there's going to have to be a discussion about that and of course the team is going to have to work with us around that issue," Gray said, according to The Washington Post.
Gray said that several teams have changed names that were deemed offensive or racist and that the Washington Redskins clearly falls into that category, according to Yahoo Sports. One of the teams to change its name includes the Washington Bullets which are now known as the Washington Wizards.
"I think it has become a lightning rod, and I would be love to be able to sit down with the team ... and see if a change should be made," Gray continued. "There's a precedent for this, and I think there needs to be a dispassionate discussion about this, and do the right thing."
The new talks were brought on by talks of a new stadium to be built in the area.
Since the federal government controls the land where a new Redskins stadium would be built, the government has some say as to deal prerequisites.
So far there has been no word from Redskins franchise owners Jack Kent Cooke and Daniel M. Snyder about changing the controversial name.
The franchise began in 1932 with the team originally called the Boston Braves. In 1933 the franchise changed its name to the Boston Redskins before it moved to Washington in 1937.
