The debate over the Washington Redskins name continues to rage on, and some of the nation's lawmakers have gotten involved while referring to the team's name as a "racial slur" in a letter to the NFL.
According to ESPN, two members of Congress sent a letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Monday asking him to support the movement for a name change and to publically admit that he can't ignore the issue anymore.
The report indicates that the letter was written by Sen. Maria Cantwell, from Washington, D.C. and Rep. Tom Cole from Oklahoma.
"The National Football League can no longer ignore this and perpetuate the use of this name as anything but what it is: a racial slur," the letter stated, according to the New York Times.
Cantwell said that she believed the name was racist and hoped her letter would lead to the NFL changing it.
"You're getting a tax break for educational purposes, but you're still embracing a name that people see as a slur and encouraging it," Cantwell said via the New York Times.
Goodell has declined to change the name in the past and even reiterated his stance during Super Bowl XLVIII weekend.
"I've been spending the last year talking to many of the leaders in the Native American communities. We are trying to make sure we understand the issues," Goodell said, according to ESPN. "Let me remind you: This is the name of a football team, a football team that's had that name for 80 years and has presented the name in a way that it has honored Native Americans."
The letter by the lawmakers said that the Redskins' name was "an insult to Native Americans." while Goodell and team owner Dan Snyder have refused to change it so far.
According to ESPN, Redskins spokesman Tony Wyllie addressed the controversy in a statement.
"With all the important issues Congress has to deal with such as a war in Afghanistan to deficits to health care, don't they have more important issues to worry about than a football team's name? And given the fact that the name of Oklahoma means 'Red People' in Choctaw, this request is a little ironic," Wyllie said in the statement via ESPN.
It seems the controversy over the Redskins name change will continue without any end in sight.
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