A Recent Supreme Court Ruling Paves Way for Washington Redskins’ Victory

The Washington Redskins have just received their first victory of the 2017 season after defeating a crosstown ‘rival’ by the name of The Department of Justice. The NFL team officially won after the Justice Department abandoned the legal fight over the team’s name in a letter to a federal appeals court. 

This means the Washington Redskins will remain named the Washington Redskins. 

The letter stated last week’s Supreme Court decision in Matal vs. Tam, that ruled in favor of an Asian-American band named the Slants, indicates that the NFL team would prevail in court in the legal fight to remove the team’s trademarks.

The dispute escalated in 2015 when a judge ruled the name was disparaging to Native Americans. According to the Associated Press, the Redskins’ case was on hold in the federal appeals court while the Slants decision was making its way through the courts.

The Supreme Court ruled that Simon Tam could trademark the Slants as the name of his band because it’s unconstitutional for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to discriminate against it, citing the First Amendment’s free speech protection.

Redskins’ owner Dan Snyder said last week that he was “thrilled” by the Supreme Court’s ruling.

Snyder refused to change the name despite the intense political pressure of the last couple years, saying in the past that the name “represents honor, respect and pride” for Native Americans.

Furthermore, according to a poll by the Washington Post, 9 in 10 Native Americans say they are not offended by the Washington Redskin’s name.

The survey of over 500 Native Americans from across every state reveals that their sentiments about the team’s name has remained unchanged since a 2004 poll by the Annenberg Public Policy Center that found nearly identical results. 

The responses to The Post’s questions concerning the topic were consistent regardless of “age, income, education, political party or proximity to reservations.”