Pa. Senator to NFL: Follow NBA's Example and End Racism in Sports

Senator Bob Casey is one of 50 U.S. Senators calling on the National Football League to formally endorse a name change of the Washington Redskins franchise.  

In a letter to the NFL, Casey and his fellow lawmakers urged the NFL to follow the example of the National Basketball Association and send “a clear message against racism in sports.”

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver recently banned Los Angeles Clippers’ owner Donald Sterling from the league for his racist comments about African-Americans.

“Today, we urge you and the National Football League to send the same clear message as the NBA did: that racism and bigotry have no place in professional sports,” the Senators wrote. “It’s time for the NFL to endorse a name change for the Washington, D.C. football team.

Civil rights organizations and Native American tribes across the nation have called on the Washington football team to change its name.

“Now is the time for the NFL to act,” the Senators wrote. “The Washington, D.C. football team is on the wrong side of history. What message does it send to punish slurs against African Americans while endorsing slurs against Native Americans?”