D.C. High School To Debate Banning Washington Redskins Apparel

This High School May Ban Washington Redskins Apparel
FILE - This Aug. 28, 2009 file photo shows the Washington Redskins logo on the field before he start of a preseason NFL football game in Landover, Md. he team's nickname, which some consider a derogatory term for Native Americans, has faced a barrage of criticism. Local leaders and pundits have called for a name change. Opponents have launched a legal challenge intended to deny the team federal trademark protection. A bill introduced in Congress in March would do the same, though it appears unlikely to pass. But a new Associated Press-GfK poll shows that nationally, ?Redskins? still enjoys widespread support. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)
FILE - This Aug. 28, 2009 file photo shows the Washington Redskins logo on the field before he start of a preseason NFL football game in Landover, Md. he team's nickname, which some consider a derogatory term for Native Americans, has faced a barrage of criticism. Local leaders and pundits have called for a name change. Opponents have launched a legal challenge intended to deny the team federal trademark protection. A bill introduced in Congress in March would do the same, though it appears unlikely to pass. But a new Associated Press-GfK poll shows that nationally, ?Redskins? still enjoys widespread support. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)

In another sign the Washington Redskins may be losing some hometown support on the name issue, a Washington, D.C., high school plans to consider banning the team’s apparel from school property.

The principal of Woodrow Wilson High School, Pete Cahall, told The Washington Post that he was going to ask the student government to debate a possible ban, after a student told him she found Redskins apparel offensive to Native Americans.

“I’m going to bring to them a concern of a student they represent, and let them debate and discuss and come up with a proposal -- or not,” Cahall told the Post. “I’ve got no dog in the fight. If nothing else, it’s a learning opportunity.”

According to My Fox DC, this discussion will take place within the next few weeks. D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray applauded the idea.

Wilson High has "a very diverse school community [which] embraces our diversity and people's differences," said Cahall, according to WTOP radio.

The discussion of a high school ban comes as debate over the football team's name has heated up in recent weeks. Earlier this month, President Barack Obama said that if he owned the team, he would “think about changing” the name.

"I don't know whether our attachment to a particular name should override the real legitimate concerns that people have about these things," the president said in an interview with the Associated Press.

Over the weekend, sportscaster Bob Costas also called for a name change, describing the term “Redskins” as an “insult” and a “slur.”

Still, team owner Dan Snyder has declared that the name is part of the team’s tradition.

“We are Redskins Nation and we owe it to our fans and coaches and players, past and present, to preserve that heritage,” Snyder wrote in an October letter to season ticket holders, published in The Washington Post.

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