Media members who have criticized the Redskins name "say they aren't changing their opinions about it despite a new Washington Post poll indicating that the vast majority of American Indians aren't offended by it," according to Paul Farhi of the WASHINGTON POST. The media members "insist that the issue is personal to them and that no poll can persuade them to write or utter the team name in their columns and broadcasts." NBC's Bob Costas said that he "decided several years ago that the name was inappropriate." Costas "stood firm" after the release of the poll, which shows that 90% of Native Americans "weren't bothered by the team's name." Costas: "I do not believe there is any offense intended by the Redskins team name or by its fans. But as I have noted, this is a football issue and there is a distinction between this issue and others that might be influenced by political correctness run amok, and it is simply this: Every dictionary defines Redskin as an insult, a slur, a derogatory or pejorative term. That is what separates it from names like Chiefs, Braves or Warriors." USA Today's Christine Brennan in '13 said that she chose "to write and say 'Washington NFL team' instead of 'Redskins,'" and vowed "to stick with that decision." Brennan: "I just can't say it. A poll isn't going to change my opinion." The Post's editorial-page editor Fred Hiatt said that the editorial board will "continue to ban the name from editorials except in reference to the name controversy." Hiatt: "Our view is a lot of readers find it offensive." Meanwhile, NPR's Frank Deford "seems to have changed his mind" on the issue. Deford: "If 90 percent of Native Americans feel this way, I just can't see what justification there is to remove the name" (WASHINGTON POST, 5/20).
MINDING THEIR OWN BUSINESS: In DC, Clarke & Maske note most NFL owners "regard the issue as a private matter" between Redskins Owner Dan Snyder and the league office. An anonymous NFL owner said that the sentiment amongst owners against "wading into the issue is likely to be bolstered by the poll's findings." The owner said, "I do think (the) poll will affect the attitudes of some owners." But he added that there "has been little conversation about the topic among NFL owners to start with." The owner: "There has not been much discussion about this, at least to my knowledge. I get the sense that this issue is gradually going away" (WASHINGTON POST, 5/20).
