Goodell: No change expected with Redskins' name

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told ESPN radio on Tuesday that he doesn't envision the Washington Redskins changing their nickname.

Goodell also reiterated that the decision remains up to team owner Dan Snyder, who repeatedly has said that he has no plans to alter the name.

Goodell's comments came one day after the Cleveland Indians announced their intention to retire the Chief Wahoo logo.

"Dan Snyder has really worked in the Native American community to understand their perspective, and I think it's really reflected in a Washington Post poll that showed that nine out of 10 Native Americans do not take that as disrespectful," Goodell said on the Golic & Wingo show. "I don't see him changing that perspective."

The poll in question came in 2016, with 504 Native Americans being asked the following question: "The professional football team in Washington calls itself the Washington Redskins. As a Native American, do you find that name offensive, or doesn't it bother you?"

Ninety percent voted that it did not bother them, nine percent found it offensive and one percent said they had no opinion on the matter.

Snyder is on record as telling USA Today that he'll never change the nickname and "you can use caps."

After the Indians announced their decision Monday, The Change the Mascot campaign issued a statement by Oneida Nation representative Ray Halbritter wanting the Redskins to follow suit.

"Cleveland's decision should finally compel the Washington football team to make the same honorable decision," Halbritter said. "For too long, people of color have been stereotyped with these kinds of hurtful symbols and no symbol is more hurtful than the football team in the nation's capital using a dictionary-defined racial slur as its team name.

"Washington owner Dan Snyder needs to look at Cleveland's move and then look in the mirror and ask whether he wants to be forever known as the most famous purveyor of bigotry in modern sports, or if he wants to finally stand on the right side of history and change his team's name. We hope he chooses the latter."

The movement has been a longtime critic of the Redskins' nickname. Its website describes the organization that hopes to "educate the public about the damaging effects on Native Americans arising from the continued use of the R-word."

Snyder repeatedly has resisted calls for changes to the nickname and logo. Last year, the Supreme Court ruled that a trademark law barring disparaging terms infringes on free speech rights.

The team began as the Boston Braves in 1932 but changed the name to Redskins in 1933. It moved to Washington in 1937. Snyder has owned the team since May 1999.