Champ Bailey is the latest NFL star to speak out against the Washington Redskins’ name

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Future Hall-of-Famer Champ Bailey, who entered the NFL as the Washington Redskins’ first-round draft pick in 1999, has become the latest player to speak out against the team’s nickname.

Speaking to USA Today, Bailey said he finds the name “Redskins” racist, though not the organization itself:

When you hear a Native American say that ‘Redskins’ is degrading, it’s almost like the N-word for a black person….They are part of this country. It’s degrading to a certain race. Does it make sense to have the name?…I don’t know where the name came from or how it came about, but the bottom line is that it’s still here in this day and age, and it makes no sense to have it. I love that organization, but when it starts peeling off old scabs and people are pitching a fit about it because it’s degrading to them, then you’ve got to make a change.

In his 16-year NFL career, Bailey has played in 12 Pro Bowls: four while with Washington, and eight as a member of the Denver Broncos, with whom he played in his first Super Bowl last February.

 

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He adds his voice to a growing chorus of people asking the team to consider changing its name. Among those people: 50 Democratic senators, who recently sent a joint letter to commissioner Roger Goddell, asking him to step in and change the name over the refusal of team owner Dan Snyder.

And this past Tuesday, the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation of California purchased 60 seconds of air time in several major television markets–including New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago–to run a pro-change advertisement:

 

What do you think? Is the outcry justified–should the team change its name? Should it be required to change its name? Or is this all an overblown mess? Weigh in by leaving a comment below.

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