Hail to the Redskins

What do you do when you're an elected member of Congress and you can't balance a budget or avoid sequestration?

You go after professional sports, of course.

I'm sure you remember the steroids hearings in 2005. Osama in Laden was still in hiding. There was a war in Iraq. As usual, there were problems upon problems in Washington but why look into those problems when you can subpoena multi-millionaire athletes and ask about steroid use in the clubhouse and who knew about it.

Now there is another cause being taken up by members of Congress. It's one that has been broached on numerous occasions and now, members of Congress have approached NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, team owners, and FedEx about changing the name of the Washington Redskins. FedEx is mentioned because it is a major sponsor of the Washington Redskins, owning the naming rights to the team's stadium.

According to the Washington Post and nfl.com, the representatives seeking the change are Eni F.H. Faleomavaega (D-American Samoa), Tom Cole (R-Oklahoma), Betty McCollum (D-Minnesota), Raul M. Grijalva (D-Arizona), Gwen Moore (D-Wisconsin), Michael M. Honda (D-California), Donna M. Christensen (D-Virgin Islands), Zoe Lofgren (D-California), Barbara Lee (D-California) and Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-District of Columbia).

The letter states, "Native Americans throughout the country consider the 'R-word' a racial, derogatory slur." It goes on to compare it to the "N-word".

Redskins owner Dan Snyder has no intentions of changing the name. He appears to have the backing of Goodell.

This is a non-issue that is being taken up by elected officials who think it's easier to beat up on professional sports than focus on the real issues at hand.

I previously mentioned it's easy for anyone to be offended by a team's name. It's one thing for people to protest over the name of a soprts team. It's another for members of Congress to take it up and make it a priority. If these people can turn their attention and efforts to more important problems than mascots, we will truly see progress being made.