The Federal Communications Commission denied a GW Law School professor’s petition to ban using the term “Redskins” on a local radio station last week.
John Banzhaf, a law professor who focuses on legal activism, said he wasn’t surprised by the decision, since it was filed too late to go through the FCC’s formal process, but that he was glad it created more public awareness. He said his filing added to building momentum across the nation for D.C.’s football team to change its name because the term is discriminatory toward Native Americans.
Washington Redskins franchise owner Dan Snyder has repeatedly said he will not change the name, which is why some activists have tried to force the change on legal grounds.
“It allowed us to get a preliminary look at the position of Snyder, but also the FCC staff. If and when we file again, we can write it in such a way to meet those objections,” Banzhaf said.
Banzhaf petitioned in September for WWXX-FM, a radio station owned by Snyder, to be banned from using the team name. The FCC ruled that the word was not obscene because it was not sexual in nature, Time reported.
Banzhaf, who is working with a team to get the word off the airwaves, said the group hasn’t yet determined what its next step will be. But he said it has been suggested the team argue that the word creates a hostile work environment.
“In the same way, I think that the stations, especially those which repeatedly and unnecessarily use the world, like Snyder’s station, have a racially hostile work environment,” he said.
