Redskins owner Dan Snyder met with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Tuesday to discuss the firestorm surrounding the team’s controversial name.
Snyder is believed to have reiterated his stance he will not change the name of the team, echoing a letter he wrote to season ticket-holders this month, according to The Washington Post. One source said the meeting was not set up to discuss changing the name, however, but so the league could learn how the team plans to deal with the growing opposition to the Redskins name.
The meeting with Snyder, believed to have taken place in New York, came one day before NFL officials, possibly including Goodell, are scheduled to meet with Oneida Indian Nation leaders — the most vocal opposition to the name — in New York. The meeting was originally scheduled for Nov. 22, but that session was pushed up at the league’s request. Snyder was invited, but is not expected to attend.
Goodell defended the team’s name earlier this year, but recently said the league must listen even if only one person is offended. However, Goodell has said that ultimately, the decision is up to Snyder. An NFL spokeman yesterday confirmed any name-change decision is solely up to the team.
In response to the Snyder-Goodell meeting, the Oneida Nation referred reporters to a statement it put out over the weekend that said, “We are encouraged that Commissioner Goodell has recently said the league should be listening to critics of the Washington team name.
“We are hopeful that [Wednesday’s] meeting begins the process of ending the league’s continued promotion of [a] painful dictionary defined racial slur.’’