The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has canceled the Washington Redskins trademark registration, an extremely rare move the office said it made because the name is offensive to Native Americans.
Trademarks that disparage or belittle other groups are not permitted under federal law. The ruling Wednesday pertains to six different trademarks containing the word “Redskin.”
Native American groups have been fighting the football team, its owners and sponsors for decades to change the name.
The 2-to-1 board decision can be reviewed by a federal court. The ruling does not mean that the trademarks can no longer be used by the NFL club, only that they are no longer registered, the statement said.
The ruling opens the door for outside sellers to sell Redskins merchandise without paying royalties to the NFL. Merchandise royalties are split equally among all NFL teams, except for the Dallas Cowboys.
This is the second time the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board has faced a petition to cancel these registrations. The first was in 1992; that case was overturned on a technicality.
The Redskins' trademark attorney said the team will appeal.
"We are confident we will prevail once again, and that the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s divided ruling will be overturned on appeal," he said in a statement.
Team owner Daniel Snyder didn't comment on the ruling Wednesday, but in a March addressed to "Redskins Nation" he reiterated his belief the team should keep the Redkins' name.
"The team name captures the best of who we are and who we can be, by staying true to our history and honoring the deep and enduring values our name represents," Syder wrote.
Many other sports teams, professional down to grade schools, have names derived from Native American roots. But few have received more scrutiny or backlash than the Redskins. Some, including the Fighting Illini, have changed their mascots amid controversy.
The Chicago Blackhawks have avoided much of the controversy surrounding other teams. The name refers not to a tribe but a single man, a 19th-century leader of the Sauk and Fox Indians in Illinois. He resisted the arrival of settlers and soldiers, and while ultimately defeated, came to be viewed as the epitome of valor by many white Americans.
For the best, since the name is absolutely indefensible in this day and age. Regardless of how long they've been using the name, it's always been derogatory towards Native Americans, and is just as bad as "Nigger Hair" tobacco, or many other racist brand names.
Now let the accusations of political correctness and hypersensitivity begin! What say ye, NSG?
