clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Washington City Paper no longer to refer to NFL team as 'Redskins'

The Washington City Paper will no longer be referring to the NFL franchise in Washington as the "Redskins."

Geoff Burke-US PRESSWIRE

The Washington City Paper announced on Thursday that the publication will no longer be referring to the NFL franchise based in Washington as the Redskins.

From here on, the City Paper will be referring to the team as the Washington "Pigskins," which was determined by a vote of over 1,000 people (the paper also may opt to call them "the 'skins," when abbreviating the name as that remains applicable under the change). This name change was motivated by the popular opinion that the team's official nickname is offensive to Native Americans.

Native American groups have been arguing for close to 20 years that the term "Redskins" is a racial slur as it is believed to be a reference to the scalping of Indians. The first lawsuit brought against the franchise came in 1992 and has lingered in courts to the present day as the plaintiffs attempt to have the team's trademarks declared invalid.