"Redskins" on Meet the Press

Oneida Nation’s Ray Halbritter on 'Meet the Press' for Redskins Controversy

By Rob CapricciosoMeet the Press, NBC’s longtime Sunday morning political news show, is the latest large media outlet to cover the controversy over the name of the Washington, D.C. NFL franchise.

This morning, the program featured an interview with Ray Halbritter, Oneida Indian Nation representative and CEO of Nation Enterprises, parent company of Indian Country Today Media Network, shot on the tribe’s homelands in central New York at the Shako:wi Cultural Center.

“Any other group or ethnic group would not tolerate this kind of language being used about them that’s so denigrating and dehumanizing,” Halbritter said on the program.

During a brief round-table after Halbritter’s comments, U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) argued that the name should be changed. Fudge is part of a growing group of U.S. Congress members who are urging team owner Daniel Snyder to change the name.Another political talk show, ABC's This Week, also discussed the controversy:

Stephanopoulos: Bigger problem might be 'Washington,' not 'Redskins'

By Jennifer EpsteinVeteran TV newswoman Cokie Roberts says she has some issues with the Washington Redskins, but the biggest one isn't with the team's name.

"My big objection is they lose," Roberts, a Redskins season ticketholder, said during a discussion of the team's name Sunday on ABC's "This Week."

More seriously, though, she added: "We wouldn't call a team the Yellowskins or the Brownskins. It would be absolutely unacceptable. And if people who are Native American are offended by it, we should pay attention to that.”

The debate over the team's name--controversial because of its reference to Native Americans in a way that seems insensitive to some--heated up this week after President Barack Obama said he'd "think about" changing the NFL team's name if he were its owner, given the widespread objections to it.

Soledad O'Brien, the former TV anchor, said that someone walking into a bar "would find that people have strong opinions about it” and that "the people who are offended are offended." Even if that's not a majority of Americans or Native Americans, "I think that matters," she said.Meanwhile, the NFL repeated what commissioner Roger Goddell said:

NFL reiterates “respect” for opposition to Redskins name

By Mike FlorioIn the wake of President Barack Obama’s suggestion that the name of the Washington NFL team should change and the team’s response via statement from an outside lawyer, the NFL has reiterated the position Commissioner Roger Goodell raised recently.

“We respect that people have differing views,” the league tells PFT via statement in response to Saturday’s events. “It is important that we listen to all perspectives.”A statement usually means an official position approved by the organization in writing. It sounds like the NFL is keeping its options open in case a change becomes unavoidable.