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Native American Groups Ask Goodell to Require Washington NFL Team to Change Name

Several Native American groups sent a joint letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Monday calling for him to force the Washington NFL franchise to change its nickname.

According to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com), 15 Native American leaders and organizations co-signed the letter, which referred to Washington's team name as "dictionary defined racial slur."

Mary Emily O'Hara of AdWeek.com published the letter received by Goodell on Monday. In the letter, the Native American leaders made several requests, including an immediate name change.

Part of the letter read as follows:

"Specifically, we, the undersigned, request that the NFL immediately:

"Require the Washington NFL team (Owner- Dan Snyder) to immediately change the name R*dsk*ns, a dictionary defined racial slur for Native Peoples.