The D.C. Council will take up a resolution next week urging the Washington Redskins to change their name.
The council passed a similar resolution in 2001, and the new one has broad support on the 13-member body. It comes amid a national debate about the name, which some consider to be offensive to Native Americans. President Barack Obama recently said he would "think about changing" the name if he owned the team.
The resolution no longer suggests a new nickname for the team. Councilmember David Grosso, who wrote the original resolution, had suggested "Redtails" in honor of the Tuskegee Airmen.
On Wednesday, representatives from the Oneida Indian Nation called for sanctions against Redskins owner Dan Snyder following a meeting with NFL officials in New York.
"We requested that Commissioner Goodell use his authority and power to refer Washington team owner Dan Snyder to the league's executive committee for sanctions should the Washington team continue to promote a dictionary-defined slur that is clearly detrimental to the welfare of the NFL's image," Ray Halbritter with Oneida Indian Nation said in a news conference after the meeting.
The D.C. Council has no power over the Redskins. The team plays its home games in Maryland, and its practice facility is in Virginia.
The controversy over the team's team has waxed and waned over the years. In recent weeks, though, newspapers including the Ricmond Free Press and the San Francisco Chronicle have said they will stop using the team's name in print, and a Washington Post columnist said changing the name is the right thing to do -- although a passionate fan base has consistently spoken out against the change.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
- Oneida Indian Nation Urges Snyder Sanctions
- SF Chronicle to Stop Using 'Redskins' in Print
- Most Fans' Support Would Not Diminish if Skins Changed Name
- Post Columnist: Skins Name Change Is "Simple Decency"
- Report: Snyder, Goodell to Meet on 'Redskins'
- Snyder: No Redskins Link to "Bravehearts" Trademark
