In recent years the Washington Redskins have come under fire for their name and logo. The term "Redskin" is a derogatory based adjective for a person of Native American decent. In Disney's "Peter Pan," there is a powwow scene in which Peter and the Native Americans sing a song entitled "What Makes The Red Man Red." The term has existed since the mid 19^th century but only recently has the slur reached national attention.

The fight to force the Washington Redskins to change their name hit a new publicity level last night, when "Proud to Be," an anti-Redskins commercial, aired during Game 3 of the NBA Finals. The commercial was slated to appear in 7 major US cities including Sacramento, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

The commercial features a collage of Native American images including Chief Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, as the narrator reads off a list of acceptable terms for those of Native American decent. The closing scene of the ad features the camera zooming in on the Washington Redskins helmet and saying, "the only thing they don't" call themselves.

Teams in other sports such as the Cleveland Indians and San Diego St. Aztecs have voluntary changed their mascots in recent years due to the changing political climate. The Cleveland Indians used to have a logo that featured a brave with a bright red face. 'Monty Montezuma,' the former SDSU mascot, also featured a bright red face.

The common occurrence of Native American mascots being depicted as having red faces is an issue that should be addressed. There are sports team whose name and logo are dedicated to specific Native American tribes such as the Chicago Blackhawks and Florida St. Seminoles. These two teams have never had a mascot that portrayed a Native American as having a red face.

Dan Snyder, owner of the Washington Redskins, has publicly said that he will never change the team name, due to the history of the franchise, which was established in 1932. Over 50 U.S. Senators have requested that Snyder change the name to no avail. There is a movement by politicians to try and get NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to force a team name change. It is unclear yet whether Goodell possess the authority to force such an action.