--- description: California became the first state to ban schools from using the "Redskins" team name or mascot Sunday. title: California Becomes First State to Ban 'Redskins' Nickname image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt912eb1281e9f8be1/6986a2b013c79fccaf193ca8/redskins.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Law](/tag/law/) ## Law Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # California Becomes First State to Ban 'Redskins' Nickname by [M. Alex Johnson / NBC News](/author/nbc-news/) ## M. Alex Johnson / NBC News Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 12, 2015 3:19 AM CUT  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 [M. Alex Johnson / NBC News](/author/nbc-news/) ## M. Alex Johnson / NBC News Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 12, 2015 3:19 AM CUT California became the first state to ban schools from using the “Redskins” team name or mascot Sunday, a move the National Congress of American Indians said should be a “shining example” for the rest of the country. The law, which Gov. Jerry Brown signed Sunday morning, goes into effect Jan. 1, 2017\. It’s believed to affect only four public schools using the mascot, which many Indian groups and activists find offensive, but its impact is significant symbolically — California has the largest enrollment of public school students in the nation, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The state Assembly… [_Read the rest of the story from our partners at NBC News_](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/california-becomes-first-state-ban-redskins-nickname-n442561?cid=par-time%5F20151012 "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4069543/california-state-ban-redskins/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4069543/california-state-ban-redskins/"},"headline":"California Becomes First State to Ban 'Redskins' Nickname","datePublished":"2015-10-12T03:19:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T11:42:09.772Z","description":"The U.S. Patent Office agreed last year that the nickname is \"disparaging of Native Americans\"","url":"https://time.com/4069543/california-state-ban-redskins/","keywords":["Law","California","Ban","Redskins"],"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":"M. Alex Johnson / NBC News"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","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/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/law/","name":"Law"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4069543/california-state-ban-redskins/","name":"California Becomes First State to Ban 'Redskins' Nickname"}}]}] ```