FCC Considering Whether to Punish Broadcasters for Saying “Redskins”
The Federal Communications Commission is considering whether to punish broadcasters for using the word “Redskins” in reports about Washington’s NFL team, reports Reuters, adding that it’s a word “many consider a slur to Native Americans.”
The FCC, which enforces broadcast indecency violations, received a petition from legal activist John Banzhaf III, asking that regulators strip radio station WWXX-FM of its broadcasting license when it comes up for renewal for using the name “Redskins”, continued the Reuters report.
Banzhaf, stated Reuters, said the word is racist, derogatory, profane and hateful, making its use “akin to broadcasting obscenity.”
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said “There are a lot of names and descriptions that were used over time that are inappropriate today. And I think the name that is attributed to the Washington football club is one of those.”
The FCC could formally deem use of the team name to be indecent, and thus impose a de facto ban on it on over-the-air television and radio, Reuters reported.
