Appealing to Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder’s pathos was never going to work. You can make commercials and documentaries that tug on the heartstrings and you can even use surveys to get your point across that the nickname is offensive, but you weren’t going to get through to him.
Finally, an initial step has been taken to crack the cocoon of ignorance that surrounds the organization in a tangible way: they indirectly came after its owner’s wallet.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office cancelled six trademarks held by the Washington Redskins on Wednesday under the grounds that, “they were disparaging to Native Americans at the respective times they were registered.”
This sets up the worst nightmare for Snyder: someone else profiting off of the offensive term — reserved for that of the scalped heads of Native Americans — that doubles as the nickname for his football team. Much like Clippers’ owner Donald Sterling, the exact amount of money taken from him isn’t the point. Let’s be honest, the $2.5 million fine from the NBA to Sterling is a drop in the bucket. Just like the chunk of revenue faux jersey makers and others looking to profit from the Redskins name won’t be taking out an overwhelming majority of licensing revenue. It may be enough, however, for Snyder to decide whether another name could be more lucrative because it would have the same financial viability and trademark protection as the other 31 teams.
By the time you read this, the Redskins will probably have already submitted an appeal of the decision. They may even win on a technicality like they did in 2003. That year, they won the appeal of a 1999 trademark cancellation decision because the judge ruled that the plaintiffs who challenged the rule had waited too long after the original Trademark Act of 1946 to do so, and they also didn’t have enough evidence. The current suit — originally filed in 2006 — that has resulted in cancellation hopes to dodge the former technicality because its plaintiffs were aged 18-24 at the time it was filed. And they hope the evidence they’ve presented stands up against the latter.
The team released a statement that reads: “We’ve seen this story before. And just like last time, (yesterday’s) ruling will have no effect at all on the team’s ownership of and right to use the Redskins name and logo.” In other words: they’re confident the crutch they’ve used to offend millions will come through for them once more. The second part however, is technically correct, because until an appeal decision is handed down, the team still gets to act as if they have total ownerships of the trademark.
You wouldn’t call a team the Washington N*****s, a word loaded with centuries of oppression and hate, but still Washington’s NFL franchise flies in the face of common decency and even common sense. It is a derogatory nickname that has persevered because it took so long for so many of us to care.
It will change, it’s just a matter of time. Public opinion is already on the side of the Native Americans that are so profoundly wounded by Snyder’s stubbornness. He isn’t changing the name until he absolutely has to, but if an appeals court does what many of us hope it will after the long process is complete, he may not have a choice.
Washington Redskins helmets sit on the field during NFL football minicamp. The U.S. Patent Office ruled Wednesday that the Washington Redskins nickname is “disparaging of Native Americans.”
