Members of Parliament Slam 'Redskins' Name

Add a pair of members of Parliament to the United Nations, President Obama, various U.S. legislators and a number of FCC commissioners to the list of people urging Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder to change the team name, according to the Change the Mascot campaign.

The letter was sent earlier this month from two members of the House of Commons to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, according to a copy of the letter supplied by the campaign.

Washington is scheduled to play at London's Wembley Stadium next season as the NFL works toward adding a U.K. franchise in the next few years.

The MPs, Ian Austin of Dudley North and Ruth Smeeth of Stoke-on-Trent North and Kidsgrove, said they either wanted the NFL to consider the name change or alternately send another team, "one that does not promote a racial slur."

Snyder has insisted the name honors a proud heritage and has shown no signs of changing it.

"A team’s name is a club decision," said NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy. "We recognize there are strong views on both sides of this."

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.