--- title: FCC Chair Tom Wheeler Says Washington Redskins Name 'Offensive' description: But says football team's owner Dan Snyder must decide to change name himself canonical: https://time.com/3319206/fcc-chair-redskins-offensive-derogatory/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-09-10T20:06:44.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T10:06:57.229Z article:section: Politics og:title: FCC Chair Tom Wheeler Says Washington Redskins Name 'Offensive' og:description: But says football team's owner Dan Snyder must decide to change name himself og:url: https://time.com/3319206/fcc-chair-redskins-offensive-derogatory/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt912eb1281e9f8be1/6986a2b013c79fccaf193ca8/redskins.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4256 og:image:height: 2394 og:image:alt: Cleveland Browns v Washington Redskins og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: FCC Chair Tom Wheeler Says Washington Redskins Name 'Offensive' twitter:description: But says football team's owner Dan Snyder must decide to change name himself twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt912eb1281e9f8be1/6986a2b013c79fccaf193ca8/redskins.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # FCC Chair: Redskins Name 'Offensive and Derogatory' > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=fc57fd7b-b8c2-493e-9548-7f978e45b018&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Sep 10, 2014 8:06 PM UTC  A Washington Redskins helmet sits on the grass during a preseason football game between the Redskins and Cleveland Browns at FedExField on August 18, 2014 in Landover, Maryland. A Washington Redskins helmet sits on the grass during a preseason football game between the Redskins and Cleveland Browns at FedExField on August 18, 2014 in Landover, Maryland. TJ Root—Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Sep 10, 2014 8:06 PM UTC Federal Communications Commission Chair Tom Wheeler [condemned](http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/washington/fccs-wheeler-redskins-name-offensive-should-go/133844) the Washington Redskins’ team name in a recent interview, but says he won’t use his power to push the team’s owner to change it. “I don’t use the term personally and I think it is offensive and derogatory,” Wheeler said in an interview with [_Broadcasting and Cable News_](http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/washington/fccs-wheeler-redskins-name-offensive-should-go/133844). “I am a Civil War buff and there were a lot of terms that were appropriate at that time that aren’t appropriate anymore.” But Wheeler went on to say that it is up to team owner Dan Snyder to ultimately change the name himself. “I think it would be great if the Washington football team would recognize those kinds of changes itself,” Wheeler said. “I hope that this is something that if enough people express themselves, Dan Snyder can see which way things are going.” Wheeler isn’t the first FCC official to speak out against the Washington football team’s name. Former Chair [Reed Hundt](http://thehill.com/policy/technology/292077-former-officials-want-fcc-to-force-redskins-name-change) has said the name could potentially violate FCC decency standards. In a 2013 [letter](http://thehill.com/policy/technology/292077-former-officials-want-fcc-to-force-redskins-name-change), several former FCC officials urged Snyder to abandon the name. Snyder has said several times he has no plans to change the team’s name or mascot. The team’s trademark was canceled because “redskins” is a dictionary defined racial slur, but the team has since appealed that decision. \[[_Broadcasting and Cable News_](http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/washington/fccs-wheeler-redskins-name-offensive-should-go/133844)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3319206/fcc-chair-redskins-offensive-derogatory/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3319206/fcc-chair-redskins-offensive-derogatory/"},"headline":"FCC Chair: Redskins Name 'Offensive and Derogatory'","datePublished":"2014-09-10T20:06:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:06:57.229Z","description":"But Tom Wheeler says Washington football team's owner must decide to change name himself","url":"https://time.com/3319206/fcc-chair-redskins-offensive-derogatory/","keywords":["Sports topic","Football","Washington","FCC"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt912eb1281e9f8be1/6986a2b013c79fccaf193ca8/redskins.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt912eb1281e9f8be1/6986a2b013c79fccaf193ca8/redskins.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Cleveland Browns v Washington Redskins","caption":"Cleveland Browns v Washington Redskins","creditText":"TJ Root—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3319206/fcc-chair-redskins-offensive-derogatory/","name":"FCC Chair: Redskins Name 'Offensive and Derogatory'"}}]}] ```