Oneida to campaign against "Redskins"

Redskins nickname offensive to N.Y. tribe

Oneida Indian Nation to launch radio campaign denouncing nickname

By the Associated PressA tribe in upstate New York said Thursday it will launch a radio ad campaign pressing for the Washington Redskins to get rid of a nickname that is often criticized as offensive.

The Oneida Indian Nation said the first ad will run on radio stations in Washington before the team hosts the Philadelphia Eagles in its season opener Monday night. In the ad, Oneida Nation representative Ray Halbritter says NFL commissioner Roger Goodell should "stand up to bigotry" by denouncing "the racial slur" in the team's name.

"We do not deserve to be called redskins," the Oneida leader says in the ad. "We deserve to be treated as what we are—Americans."

The radio ad said Goodell had rightly been critical this summer after an Eagles wide receiver was caught on video making a racial slur against African-Americans.Comment:  For more on the Washington Redskins, see Chief Zee = Racist Uncle and Peter King Website Bans "Redskins."