Face of NFL on CBS Says Redskins Should Change Name

The host of The NFL Today on CBS says that the Washington Redskins should change the team name. 

“If the name is offensive to a group of people, then do the right thing and change the name,” James Brown declared on a panel hosted by CBS News on the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. “It’s as simple as that. I know people will engage in an argument and say, ‘Well it hasn’t been an issue all this time.’ Yeah, well, the civil rights issue was one where ‘that’s just the way it was’ for a long period of time, right? So that holds no basis and substance to me.”

The remarks come in the wake of CBS Sports President Sean McManus divulging that the network will leave it up to announcers whether to say the team’s name or not on the air.

While The Seattle Times, football writer Peter King, and Grantland editor Bill Simmons have vowed to expunge the word from their vocabularies, not all sports journalists think as they do. “I mean all of a sudden–mean, for 70-some odd years this was a zero issue, and then it became an issue,” iconic play-by-play man Al Michaels said last month. “I understand we live in this politically correct environment. It’s crazier than ever; you know, senators want to weigh in on this, like there’s nothing better to do in Congress. This becomes a big issue. I mean, I just think it’s nuts.”

The Redskins will appear at least four times on CBS this season.