Interesting development:
The United States Patent and Trademark Office has canceled the Washington Redskins trademark registration, calling the football team’s name “disparaging to Native Americans.”
The landmark case, which appeared before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, was filed on behalf of five Native Americans. It was the second time such a case was filed.
“This victory was a long time coming and reflects the hard work of many attorneys at our firm,” said lead attorney Jesse Witten, of Drinker Biddle & Reath.
Federal trademark law does not permit registration of trademarks that “may disparage” individuals or groups or “bring them into contempt or disrepute.” The ruling pertains to six different trademarks associated with the team, each containing the word “Redskin.”
“We are extraordinarily gratified to have prevailed in this case,” Alfred Putnam Jr., the chairman of Drinker Biddle & Reath, said. “The dedication and professionalism of our attorneys and the determination of our clients have resulted in a milestone victory that will serve as an historic precedent.”
The article goes on to point out this has happened before and was overturned by a federal court.
low-tech cyclist
Given the problems ex-NFL players are having with brain damage, how about the Washington Concussions?
c u n d gulag
How about, The Washington Villagers, who play at _____________________ (fill-in whichever network wants to pay to have their Sunday bloviaton fest’s name on the stadium).
Meet the Press Park?
Face the Nation Field?
This Week with George Vowel-a-lot-alous Stadium?
Or, Meme & Talking Point Park?
Or, what about The Washington Conservatives?
But then, no public funding for the stadium, or anything else!
1s
Love
It!
Also a great day for snappy comebacks: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/18/harry-reid-dick-cheney_n_5507113.html
GO HARRY GO!!
SiubhanDuinneOnIPhone5
But overturned on a technicality, I believe, not on merits.
Gin & Tonic
“reflects the hard work of many attorneys.” With their fees paid by whom? Honestly curious.
⚽️ Martin
@low-tech cyclist: I think ‘Washington Derps’ would strike a note with the entire nation.
Calouste
Just call it the Washington Slaveholders, in honor of the Founding Fathers (just as Spyder thinks the current name honors Native Americans).
Morzer
Washington Embarrassments sounds about right.
FlipYrWhig
Change it to the Hogs and make all that pig-nose weirdness make some damn sense only 30 years late. Or make it the Grays in honor of the city’s best sports franchise, the Homestead Grays.
cleek
how about the Washington Sucks
Chyron HR
I suggest the “RG3 Players”.
Ben Cisco (onboard the Defiant)
@c u n d gulag: No, this one should be obvious. The Washington Villagers could only play their home games at John McCain Field.
It would be good news for him, after all.
FlipYrWhig
@FlipYrWhig: Or the Maroons.
geg6
@c u n d gulag:
Oh, come on. You know it has to be Politico Park.
Morzer
@geg6:
WinTheMorning Stadium.
geg6
@FlipYrWhig:
I really don’t think Washington can claim the Grays. They only played a few games in DC and all of the rest of their home games were played in Homestead. Which is in Pittsburgh.
Helmut Monotreme
I think they should be called the Washington Generals. It lets us know what level of excellence we can expect from the franchise.
Belafon
When it was overturned, the appeals court said the plaintiffs did not have standing. If Native Americans do not have standing, than who would? Since the name obviously refers to Native Americans (little hard for it not to with the image they use), and it’s recognized that redskin is derogatory, it would seem to me that Native American plaintiffs would have standing.
geg6
@Morzer:
Hahahahaha, exactly. I was thinking Win the Morning could be their slogan.
PurpleGirl
How about the Washington Governators or Washington Partisans? Don’t know what the mascot could be.
Punchy
/giggles
FlipYrWhig
@geg6: They split time between Pittsburgh and Washington. Mostly I brought it up because it would be fitting to have the team called something that spoke to the city and the region’s black history.
NotMax
Polls show 27% support for re-naming them the Washington Reagans.
(Not meant to be a true statement.)
Washington Rebels?
Too touchy.
Washington Gridlocks?
Too reality-based.
Maybe take a cue from the “With a name like Smucker’s, it’s got to be good” school of branding and go with the Washington Hemorrhoids.
The mascot costume for that one could be problematic, though.
Or cross the Rubicon to a name in which everyone could find offense.
Washington Flaggots.
(Having now touched a toe into the Ocean of Extremely Bad Taste, shall make a hasty exit.)
mellowjohn
not original, but i’ve always liked the “chesapeake drainage basin indigenous persons.”
Pogonip
Considering the level of intelligence of the Villagers and their lackeys, how about the Washington Buttheads? Washington Fools? Washington MBAs?
CONGRATULATIONS!
You’re dealing with Dan Snyder here, one of the biggest jerks on the planet. He’s not going to change the name unless it’s to something even worse, like the “Washington Darkies”.
The mascot will be a lawn jockey statue.
If you think that Donald Sterling is litigious you haven’t seen anything yet. He’s going to sue the USPTO, and anyone who “infringes” his “trademark”, whether said “trademark” is enforcable or not. He doesn’t care. All it costs to harass everyone in the whole fucking world is money and lawyers, and he’s got both.
dedc79
I have to think that Snyder is resigned to changing the name but wants to be sure that, when he does so, he is perceived as having had no other choice. Steps like this one will help bring things to a point where he can throw up his hands and say “I give up.”
Pogonip
@CONGRATULATIONS!: Why just insult Indians or blacks? Call them the Washington Slurs and insult everybody!
Morzer
@Pogonip:
Washington Chickenhawks has a ring to it – and there would be a rich array of possible mascots to choose from.
Felonius Monk
The Washington Monuments? After all, they sometimes appear to be statues frozen in time.
MikeJ
@SiubhanDuinneOnIPhone5:
“Technicality” is another way of saying “the law.” When you say someone “got off on a technicality”you’re saying he didn’t violate the law.
⚽️ Martin
@NotMax: Oh, barely a toe at that. I give you the Washington Testiculos.
NonyNony
A few suggestions for a new name:
Washington Senators
Washington Monuments
Washington Minutemen
Washington Reds
Washington Stars
DC Minutemen
DC Reds
DC Senators
DC Stars
DC PatriotsDC UnitedWashington BastardsDC Blue Ribbon PanelWashington PostThere ya go. Even a few names that you probably can’t use but that would be much, much better than the name you’ve got now.
scav
Washington Incumbents (mascot, a Speed Bump) which can be morphed to Encumbrances for jokey.
Amir Khalid
Off-topic, but guys you gotta see this!
Guardian live-blog reports some undetermined number of Chile fans (40, 100, who knows how many exactly?) have broken through security at Maracana Stadium, with a pix of them charging through the press centre in their red Chile team shirts to get in to see the match.
scav
@Amir Khalid: Indeed.
Pogonip
I’ve got it! The Washington Coles! They will fall down on the field a lot, their uniforms will not include pants, and periodically they will shout at the fans in the stands: “WE HATE YOU ALL!”. The mascot, of course, will be an overweight housecat.
ET
I don’t know if this will stand because I don’t know trademark law and the ins and outs of who can bring a case, but if it doesn’t some of Snyder’s filthy lucre is going to be spent on this. I will say that if Snyder brings this case to court to overturn wouldn’t he be the plaintiff?
dedc79
Washington Broders? Washington Centrists?
Morzer
@Pogonip:
Mustard and blood for the uniform colors, of course.
Anoniminous
Speaking of names …
The invaluable Pierce hath noticed:
Crudup?
⚽️ Martin
@Amir Khalid: That’s awesome.
Joseph P.
The Washington White Honkey Crackers.
Perfect name—it doesn’t offend any racial group.
rikyrah
PoliticsNation 06/17/14
From homeless to valedictorian
Rev. Sharpton interviews Rashema Melson, who has been named valedictorian of her D.C. graduating high school class after overcoming all sorts of adversity, including homelessness and losing her father when she was just a baby.
http://on.msnbc.com/1ihWkpt
NotMax
@Amir Khalid
Red Hot Chile Pepsters?
Pogonip
@Morzer: Mustard and blood, skin and bone…you load sixteen tons, what do you get…
NotMax
@Pogonip
Only stadium with a Subaru in the middle of the field.
Morzer
@Pogonip:
I’ve been trying very hard not to imagine what the cheerleaders would look like when they execute the Naked Mopping routine.
FlipYrWhig
@Morzer: at least that would match the existing heraldry. Burgundy and gold is a good match for dried blood and American mustard.
Origuy
The Washington Wild Boars? Homonyms are your friend.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
@Belafon: It wasn’t quite standing that the plaintiffs didn’t have. It was more like a statute of limitations issue. They sued decades after the team name was trademarked and, because the plaintiffs were all elderly, the court ruled that they should have sued closer to the time the trademark was registered.
The difference is that this time the specific plaintiffs are all young and couldn’t have sued earlier. It’s kind of a dumb technicality to rule on given the obvious response that the plaintiffs availed themselves of. We’ll see if that makes a difference.
Morzer
@FlipYrWhig:
I wonder whether the Washington Griffindorks would have a suitable ring to it….
Higgs Boson's Mate
@Anoniminous:
Hosemann?
scav
@MikeJ: I thought at least some technicalities that got people off could arise from missteps over the involved steps of making a legal case (whoops! wrong paperwork) and reflect nothing whatsoever on the legality of the original action.
Pogonip
@Joseph P.: Hey, I like White Honkey Crackers! Only decent crackers you can get sine Vegetable Thins had the flavor “improved” right out of them.
I am duly offended.
Pogonip
@rikyrah: In honor of Rashema’s achievement, she will NOT be speaking at the Coles’s debut game.
Trollhattan
In related news, Daniel Snyder and Donald Sterling are trading teams and hoping nobody notices.
Violet
Washington Lobbyists.
WaterGirl
Boston Globe:
Trollhattan
Is Washington Redtapes too obvious? They’d barely have to redesign the business cards and stationery.
Pogonip
@Violet: What about them?
Tone in DC
I don’t care what the name is changed to. I have lived here my whole life (aside from four years of school elsewhere), and I’ll watch the Skins play even if they rename them the Washington Hoyas.
I just want the O line to be decent for a change, so Griffin doesn’t get himself killed.
Alex S.
The Washington (Ronald) Reagans?
⚽️ Martin
Oh! ‘Washington Unlimited Corporate Cash’! It works on every level.
PaulW
While it’s nice that there’s an external force now pressuring Snyder to make a name change, it still won’t resolve the simple problem that Snyder’s PRIDE is stopping him from doing the obvious thing of changing the team name and logo. It’s HIS toy, he’s gonna play with it HIS way.
I mean, under sane circumstances a level-headed owner would have said “you know, this isn’t worth the hassles” and made a name change and logo change. It’s happened before – Washington Wizards, anyone? – and few people other than the open racists would fault Snyder for doing so. Even more, a smart level-headed owner would look at the changing of the logo/name as a way to boost merchandising, as fans flock to buy the new shirts, jerseys, drinking mugs, posters, pom-poms etc. now bearing the updated team identity. For what I know, sales of Washington R- merch is sluggish: partly because it’s been a bad team too often and partly because YES IT’S A RACIST LOGO.
Other teams change their logos and color schemes on a regular basis – save for the steady, popular teams – as a means of boosting sales and improving the marketing (my hometown team the Bucs did that back in 1997 changing from the creamsicle winking pirate to a blood-red skullflag of awesomeness). It’d be a no-brainer move to change the logo to something like Washington Sentinels or Washington Warriors, tweak the color scheme a bit, add the appropriate snazzy logo, and viola sell the new merch across Maryland and Northern Virginia to the delight of the local football fans.
Belafon
@PaulW: My wife’s alma mater changed their mascot from the Indians to the Red Wolves. The colors did not change, but the mascot did. Since that change, they’ve won the Sun Belt conference every year (yeah, coincidence, so what).
DrZZ
My favorite new name suggestion so far is the Red Tails to honor the Tuskegee Airmen. A bonus would be that you could have a P-51 Mustang in the logo.
schrodinger's cat
Deleted, because lame suggestion was lame and unfunny.
SiubhanDuinne
@MikeJ:
The first article I read, earlier today (not the one John linked to) merely said “overturned on a technicality.” It didn’t go into details.
ETA: Now that I look again, I see it did mention the issue of plaintiffs’ standing. Sorry I forgot that.
Glocksman
But..but the rivalry between the Dallas Cowboys and the Redskins would be weakened by a name change.
Or so Snyder probably thinks.
If he does at all.
Seriously though, a name change offers him the chance to make another mint selling merchandise.
Pride goeth before a fall, and whom the gods would destroy they first make proud.
FormerSwingVoter
Maybe they should change the name to the Braves.
Which is what it was originally.
Before the team was bought by a massive racist in the ’30’s who changed the name specifically to be offensive towards the people he hated.
Violet
@Pogonip: That’s why the name would work. Lobbyists are so representative of Washington.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@Anoniminous: Crudup: Probably an Americanized form of North German Gratop, a nickname for an old man, from Middle Low German gra ‘gray’ + top ‘braid’ (modern German Zopf). (Dictionary of American Family Names, 2013)
See also actor Billy Crudup, blues man Arthur Crudup.
PurpleGirl
@DrZZ: I like that idea. They were a brave bunch of men and great pilots/fighters. They deserve the honor.
ETA: It might even give the team something to challenge them to live up.
Anoniminous
@Higgs Boson’s Mate:
How about Derpmann.
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism:
Makes sense it derived from German.
Still think Crudup is humorously Truth in Advertising name for a Pastor for a Fundie/Con church.
Amir Khalid
My comment seems to have been mysteriously eated by FYWP. I was suggesting that Snyder rename the team Washington DC Football Club and nickname it the Maroon and Gold, which sounds all classy and stuff.
Scamp Dog
@c u n d gulag: Oh, come on, real-world conservatives (the kind that fund the movement) are all about getting subsidies, while denying them to everyone else. This would be a perfect demonstration of the principle.
PaulW
@Belafon:
Yes, yes, good karma shall follow…
Citizen_X
The Washington Bullets?
@DrZZ: Red Tails is actually a seriously good suggestion.
Amir Khalid
@DrZZ:
@Citizen_X:
I agree, Red Tails sounds very dignified and honours American warriors of colour. But in this instance, perhaps one might want to honour native Americans first since it is them that the current team name has disrespected all these decades.
Long Tooth
Stanford dropped the moniker Indians in favor of the Cardinal (yawn) circa 1973. The student body actually voted to rename their teams the Stanford Thunder Chickens, but were overruled by uptight alum. Too bad, because it would have been immortal (“the mighty Thunder Chickens of Stanford”).
PaulW
Need to start generating new names:
Washington Nighthawks
Washington Lobbyists
Washington Sentinels
Washington Generals (mmmmm, maybe not)
Washington Dollars
Washington Washers
Washington Willows (or the Washington Wiccans)
Washington Wimps
Washington Windstorms
Washington Wankers (nah, too British)
Washington Wah-Wahs
Washington Wyverns
Washington Watchers On the Wall
Washington Woodys
and lastly the Washington Whats
PaulW
@Long Tooth:
There’s NOTHING WRONG with Thunder Chickens!!!
Gravenstone
@Belafon:
Tampa Bay Rays have done remarkably well (aside from this current season) ever since ditching the Devil from their team name. So yeah, coincidence or not, who cares. Make the change.
Villago Delenda Est
Washington Fuckheads. Reflects the mental status of their owner, and reflects the mental status of the Villagers, and reflects the mental status of the majority party in the House.
Villago Delenda Est
@PaulW: Washington Wieners (nah, too German, too Jewish….)
Villago Delenda Est
@⚽️ Martin: The hallmark of fail.
I like it!
FlipYrWhig
@Amir Khalid: Especially because the maroons were runaway slaves, some of whom ran away to Virginia, which is where the Red****s currently play (albeit the most proximate maroon communities weren’t particularly near the DC area).
FlipYrWhig
@Citizen_X: Except that there’s no connection between the Tuskegee Airmen and Washington DC.
Long Tooth
@Villago Delenda Est: Well, I like it.
Anyone else remember Chief Knockahoma?
Mobile Grumpy Code Monkey
I like The Chickenhawks, myself.
Citizen_X
@FlipYrWhig: Partial continuity with the old name (“Washington Red…”), meaning for, and respect to*, a largely-black potential fan base, and it honors bona fide American heroes. What’s not to like?
*Which probably means Snyder would never do it.
Steeplejack
@Long Tooth:
And his possibly apocryphal squaw.
JustRuss
The Washington Obstructionists, aka “Gridlock on the Gridiron” (TM)
Central Planning
I think the Washington Dbags works nicely.
Bubblegum Tate
So it’s safe to assume that the Washington NFL team will now be the wingnuts’ favorite team because it, like them, is now suffering unprecedented oppression in the name of political correctness, right?
Cervantes
@Gin & Tonic:
The work was done pro bono.
@Punchy:
FYI the Drinker in the name was the brother of historian Catherine Drinker Bowen. The Drinkers are an old Quaker family.
Long Tooth
@PaulW: Then you possess a hippy’s sensibility. Salt of the earth, that tribe.
JPL
@Mobile Grumpy Code Monkey: I have to agree. Think about the chants the crowd could make. USA, USA,USA cluck cluck cluck.
Just One More Canuck
@PaulW: @Long Tooth: When I was an undergrad, some friends and I started a movement to change our school nickname from the Vikings to the Screaming Daffodils.
cminus
Washington Americans.
We already have the Washington Nationals in baseball, Washington Capitals in hockey, and DC United in soccer, so then all we’d need to do is change the Wizards’ name to the States or something.
FlipYrWhig
In the spirit of the Buffalo Bills, how about the Washington Booker T’s? That way you can get the Tuskegee connection in there, too.
Sad_Dem
Comments on other news boards are predictably depressing derpfests of gloating angry fist-shakers urging Dan Snyder to hold fast against the tide of political correctness.
Pogonip
@Just One More Canuck: So what happened?
Does anyone remember Screaming Yellow Zonkers candy-coated popcorn?
Pogonip
@Villago Delenda Est: We might have to pay royalties to Just-Some. (Where is he lately?)
Also, did Elmo find homes for his kittens? These urgent questions arise and then get dropped. We need someone to do a monthly catchup post. “Elmo has 27 cute kittens! Any takers?…Would whoever has the mustard please return it ASAP…the car is finally out of the field…Steve sat on a bird last week and squashed the poor little sucker flat…General Franco is still dead…”. Put this on the agenda! It’s needed!
Pogonip
@Sad_Dem: I forget which site it was but one news article said the Skins were named in honor of a revered Indian coach they had back in the ’30’s. Don’t know if this is correct.
Trollhattan
@Pogonip:
Yup. Gawd did those things stick to my teeth.
Totally healthy, though.
NotMax
@Pogonip
You betcha.
Not only yummy munchies, the package looked really cool under a black light in addition to sporting humorous text.
gwangung
@Long Tooth:
Robber Barons, actually, though the Thunder Chickens were up there.
Pogonip
I ain’t got a dog in the legal fight, know nothing about football and care less, own no stock in the Redskins or in any company that makes Redskins trinkets, and I am mostly white and look it ( grandmother was Cherokee but it doesn’t show on me). But I must say I am uneasy about a legal decision that equates 5 people being offended by the Redskins to general disparagement. If the court had evidence that most, or even a sizable minority of, Indians felt disparaged I would feel a lot better about the decision. And maybe there was such evidence, I haven’t looked into it closely. But if only 5 people prompted a patent court to bring down the hammer, that’s not good. It’s the legal equivalent of a library pulling The Penguin Has Two Mommies (or whatever that was) off the shelf because a few people complain.
Pogonip
@NotMax: I remember the text, although I was too young to get the jokes, but by the time I saw a black light Zonkers were long gone. Darn it.
I really miss Chocolite candy bars. Also Elmer’s Gold Brick Eggs, the chocolate eggs with bits of pecan in them. Best chocolate ever made.
Long Tooth
@Pogonip: Nat Turner for one would certainly have concurred with your sentiment, if that’s what it is.
Sad_Dem
@Pogonip: Yes, I do!
NotMax
@Pogonip
You’ve now made me realize that haven’t seen Walnettos in years and years and years.
Back in high school, worked weeknights as a movie theater usher in a neighboring town. There was an unused little room in the basement which we commandeered as a break room and furnished with black lights and an El Cheapo stereo.
The management didn’t cotton to the idea of us putting up posters on the walls*, so instead we sliced open pasted flattened Zonkers! boxes on the walls.
*Which was really odd, as there were posters aplenty piled and scattered all over the basement, as this theater never used the ones sent them but rather employed an in-house artist on staff to make unique, hand-lettered posters for each film, which were put up in the showcases out front.
Pogonip
@Long Tooth: He liked Screaming Yellow Zonkers too?
Sad_Dem
@Pogonip: Wikipedia on George Preson Marshall.
Pogonip
@NotMax: You can order Walnettos from the ridiculously expensive Vermontcounteystore.com.
They used to have Cheeze Waffies, the ultimate in salty junk-food bliss.
The Washington Waffies? Then they could revive Cheese Waffies and sell them at the concession stand.
Pogonip
@NotMax: Oops! That’s Vermontcountrystore.com, sorry.
Pogonip
@Sad_Dem: Lone Star Dietz, that’s the guy the article says the team was named after. George sounds more like Lone Star Doofus.
The Washington Doofi?
Sad_Dem
@Pogonip: The Washington Airmen would be a great way to honor the Tuskegee Airmen and renounce the antiblack racism of George Preston Marshall, but Dan Snyder has said he will never change the team’s name.
NotMax
@Pogonip
Thanks, but you lost me at “ridiculously expensive.”
Last time I purchased any, JFK was in office.
(Plus, at my age, would hazard sacrificing a tooth or two to the chewy goodies.)
Just One More Canuck
@Pogonip: Sadly, it never got too far – for some reason, nobody took it seriously. Someone did start working on a design though
Pogonip
@Sad_Dem: If the court says he can’t trademark the current name, and thus can’t sell still more Redskins trinkets, he’ll change the name no matter how rich he is. Guys like this rarely understand the concept of “enough.”
Pogonip
@NotMax: I was four when JFK died. My mom was ironing and had soap operas on which were interrupted by the news. I pestered for something and was surprised and offended when she snapped “Hush!” and kept staring at the TV.
Sad_Dem
@Pogonip: Dan Snyder is a litigious d-bag with money. He can appeal and rally the wingnuts to defend his freedom of expression. But you’re correct–in an instant, he will change the name if the appeals run out, and all the wingnuts will celebrate his wisdom in choosing some other name.
OldDave
@Belafon: My wife’s alma mater changed their mascot from the Indians to the Red Wolves. The colors did not change, but the mascot did.
“Jumping Joe” has to be one of the most insultingly racist mascots ever. I can say that – I graduated from there in the late 70s. :)
Cervantes
@Pogonip:
Makes no sense, logically, as their original name was the Braves (and the ball park was often called the Wigwam) — so if honoring a “revered Indian coach” were the point, there’d have been no need to rename the team.
Besides, the owner of the team was a notorious racist.
The name change happened in the early 1930s when the team was still in Boston. We also had a baseball team with the same name. In those days, in the local papers, words like “braves” and “redskins” and “redmen” and “barbarians” and “savages” were used to describe Native Americans, interchangeably and not in a nice way.
Pogonip
@Cervantes: Not surprised to learn a corporate “news” site would have factual errors. Also not surprised to get the straight poop from someone here.
Pogonip
That’s it! The Washington Poops! And the owner goes by Mean Old Poop! Perfect!
Bubblegum Tate
@Bubblegum Tate:
I called it!
From the Newsmax headlines box in the right column: “Rush: ‘Tyranny’ to void Redskins trademark”
Jackie
Clint Didier played for the Redskins – and has two Super Bowl Rings for his efforts.
He is now running for Doc Hastings seat for WA State Rep. – as a Tea Party rep. His signs are all over eastern WA with a football helmet with letter R. For Republican, or for Redskins?
I wonder what his stance is regarding the Redskins name. I grew up a HUGE Redskins fan – always hoped for a Redskins vs Seahawks match-up in the Super Bowl. Now, of course, since the Seahawks are NFC, that’s not going to happen :(
I’m a Washingtonian, so first allegiance is to the Seahawks, Mariners, Sonics, Sounders….
If they do end up changing their mascot name, I’m all for the Hogs ;)
P.S. Didier is on record supporting keeping the Redskins name. http://www.politico.com/story/2014/05/clint-didier-washington-redskins-name-washington-4th-district-fourth-district-keep-name-107242.html Sorry, haven’t figured out the linky-thing. but if you copy/paste…
Now I’m torn. I’m a Democrat, but also very much a traditionalist – when it comes to sports.