Poll: What Should the Redskins' New Name Be?

Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder is not a particularly admirable man. He tends to treat the Redskins as if he’s playing fantasy football. They tend to lose more often than they win. He’s not exactly a fan favorite. But Snyder isn’t taking the U.S. Patent Office’s ruling against his team lying down.

The team has released a statement saying the ruling “will have no effect at all on the team’s ownership of and right to use the Redskins’ name/logo”. They’re correct, but it does allow others to use the name as they wish…the just can’t trademark it either.

Which, in the short term at least, means we’re likely to see a whole lot of pirated Redskins merch hit the streets. Dan Snyder just won’t make any money from it.

For its part, the NFL is trying to be Switzerland. It’s not going to say anything in support of or opposition to the Patent Office’s decision.

At some point, the Washington Redskins will be forced to change their name. It’s only a matter of time. The hostile occupying force that is now the Beltway cannot abide anything less than total capitulation from the rest of us. After that, maybe Washington will see fit to force Oklahoma (translation: “red people”) to officially call itself “Texas’ Pan-Shaped Hat.”

Snyder could have some fun with a Redskins renaming contest, though. Twitter has lit up with alternative names. Snyder could poll test them to see which ones capture Americans’ current attitudes.

What do you think the Redskins’ new name should be?

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