Days after President Obama weighed in on the Washington Redskins nickname controversy by suggesting he'd "think about" changing the name if he ran the team, team owner Dan Snyder has released a public letter justifying his decision to keep "Redskins." Though more conciliatory than his past statements on the issue — he told USA Today earlier this year that he would "NEVER" change the name — Snyder nonetheless insists that "Redskins" has a positive connotation and that the name is largely supported by Native Americans. Here's the letter:
For a critique of the Annenberg study Snyder cites, click here. For a BuzzFeed piece on how the Redskins are perceived on the Indian reservation Snyder mentions in the letter, click here. For a pretend Funny Or Die letter addressed by pretend Dan Snyder to "redskins," "whiteskins," and "blackskins," click here, and for Deadspin's debunking of the credentials of an "Inuit chief" whose support the Redskins have cited in the past, click here.