Redskins Get Sacked in Federal Case Over Team's Name

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A federal judge in Alexandria ruled Wednesday that the Washington Redskins no longer deserve federal trademark protection for their team name, which has been criticized as derogatory by Native Americans.

The ruling means that the team stands to lose millions of dollars in licensing revenue without trademark protection. Copycats will be able to put the Redskins’ name and emblem on T-shirts and other merchandise without compensating the team.

Redskins owner Daniel Snyder has vowed that he will never change the team’s name.

In a statement posted Wednesday on the team’s website, Redskins President Bruce Allen said he was “surprised” by U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee’s decision “to prevent us from presenting our evidence in an open trial.”

The team looks forward to winning the case on appeal, Allen said. “We are convinced that we will win because the facts and the law are on the side of our franchise that has proudly used the name Redskins for more than 80 years.”

Lee upheld a ruling last year by the federal Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, which said the team’s brand is offensive to Native Americans and ineligible under the Lanham Act for status in the federal trademark registry.

In his 70-page ruling, Lee said the team can still use the Redskins name if it wishes, but it would lose legal protections provided by federal registration of the trademark. To see Lee’s ruling in full, please click here.

The appeal board had been petitioned by five Native American activists, who have led a public campaign to force the team to change its name.

The Redskins argued that removing the team’s trademark protection would violate its First Amendment right to free speech. The cancellation of its federal trademark registration, under Lee’s ruling, will not go into effect until the team exhausts its appeals in the federal courts, according to media reports.