Oneida Indian Nation Issues Statement Regarding a Bipartisan Congressional Letter to the NFL Calling for the League to Support Changing the Name of Washington’s Team
Oneida Nation Homelands, New York (PRWEB) February 10, 2014 -- The Oneida Indian Nation, which leads the national Change the Mascot campaign, responded today to a bipartisan letter from Members of Congress that is being delivered to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell calling on the league to halt the use of the offensive R-word for Washington’s football team and to take a formal position in support of a name change. The letter comes from Senator Maria Cantwell, Chairwoman of the Indian Affairs Committee, and Rep. Tom Cole, a Member of the House Native American Caucus.
Oneida Indian Nation Representative Ray Halbritter said in response to the letter:
"The NFL is a publicly subsidized $9-billion-a-year brand with global reach, and it is using those public resources and that brand to promote a dictionary defined racial slur. While the Washington team somehow claims that Congress has better things to do than intervene in a serious issue that involves taxpayer dollars, it is the exact opposite: Congress has a responsibility to the American people to put an end to this kind of taxpayer-subsidized bigotry. We are thrilled to have these congressional leaders from both parties speaking out on behalf of the ‘Change the Mascot’ campaign and urge them to take immediate action to prevent the league from using any more public resources to promote hatred against Native Americans."
Brett Stagnitti, Oneida Indian Nation, +1 (315) 829-8310, [email protected]
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