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Redskins to senators: Team’s name is ‘respectful’

By Washington Examiner
Published May 24, 2014 2:16pm ET
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Redskins to senators: Team’s name is ‘respectful’
FILE - In this May 1, 2009 file photo, Washington Redskins Marko Mitchell puts his helmet on during their NFL football minicamp practice at their training facility in Ashburn, Va. Half of the U.S. Senate says it's time to change the name of the Washington Redskins. Forty-nine Democratic senators wrote NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Thursday, May 22, 2014. They say racism and bigotry do not belong in professional sports. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File) | Alex Brandon

WASHINGTON (AP) — Redskins President Bruce Allen said in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Saturday that the football team’s nickname is “respectful” toward Native Americans.

On Thursday, half the U.S. Senate urged NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to change the Washington club’s name, saying it is a racist slur and it is time to replace it.

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