Why Tim Kaine, Mark Warner Did Not Sign Letter Regarding Redskins Name Change

Only five Democratic senators did not sign the letter urging the NFL to rename the Washington Redskins. Two of them -- Tim Kaine and Mark Warner -- are from Virginia, where the Redskins make their base in Ashburn and hold training camp in Richmond.

According to Kaine's office, Sen. Kaine "has been publicly supporting a name change for months, but he had concerns about the tone of the letter sent by Senate Democrats."

Here's an excerpt from a radio interview that Kaine conducted on Charlottesville radio in October 2013 where he weighed in on the matter:

"I'm not the owner so I'm not the one making the call but there's a good example of an owner for a pro-sports franchise that everybody loved here in Washington, Abe Pollin, and at some point he decided Washington Bullets might be a good name and that was the team name for a while. They called themselves 'faster than a speeding bullet.' But Abe Pollin was an enlightened owner who decided that a name that was okay in the past, now was not okay. And I'm not the owner, but if I were the owner I think I'd make the decision to find a better name."

As for Warner, an aide released the following statement Thursday afternoon:

Senator Warner believes that it's not for Congress to dictate what the league does. He believes that over time, team names will change to reflect the times, as happened with the Washington Wizards.