The Redskins has long endured controversy due to its name, which some fans and activists have considered racist.
D.C. Councilman-At-Large David Grosso is encouraging the team's management to step up to rename the team. Grosso's crusade comes in alignment to D.C. mayor Vincent Gray's ultimatum issued in January that if the team ever wishes to relocate within city limits, it must agree to change its name.
Previous talks about name changes have come up short when an appropriate new name for the team could not be agreed upon. Grosso has proposed the name "Redtails."
He plans to introduce a new resolution within a few weeks outlining his plan for what he believes to be a necessary change.
"Washington's name has been dishonored by association with the word 'Redskins,'" Grosso said in the resolution. "Because it is well known in America and in nations afar that American Indians have experienced utmost suffering and disrespect over the years."
The new name is intended to honor the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of black U.S. Air Force members who served during WWII. An eponymous film about the Airmen was released in 2012.
Grosso insists that the Redskins' current fight song, "Hail to the Redskins," can still be preserved in spite of the name change, but fans are not too happy about it.
The chant recites as follows:
Hail to the Redskins!
Hail Victory!
Braves on the Warpath!
Fight for old D.C.!
Run or pass and score -- we want a lot more!
Beat 'em, Swamp 'em,
Touchdown! -- Let the points soar!
Fight on, fight on 'Til you have won
Sons of Wash-ing-ton. Rah!, Rah!, Rah!
Hail to the Redskins!
Hail Victory!
Braves on the Warpath!
Fight for old D.C.!
Among criticisms about the new name aside from tradition include the fact that the term "redtails" can also be applied to a number of animals from hawks to boa constrictors.
Grosso said the name is in the works and that he would be open to a different idea, according to the Washington Examiner.
"It's just a suggestion," Grosso said. "I just don't want it to be offensive, and at the end, what I'd love to call them is world champions."
Others who have protested the current name include the Washington City Paper, which stated in Oct. 2012 that it would no longer refer to the team as the "Redskins," but as the "Pigskins," according to the Huffington Post.
If Grosso's resolution is passed, the team would be forced to change its name, and its former trademark would be banned from future use.
© 2025 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
