NFL nickname blasted

The federal Trademark Trial and Appeal Board today canceled six of Washington NFL team’s federal trademark registration, ruling the team's nickname is “disparaging of Native Americans.” The team immediately jumped to appeal the decision, so the cancellations are currently on hold pending a court appeal, according to the Associated Press. In 2003, the team succeeded in overturning a similar trademark board ruling from 1999.U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington said on the Senate floor, “This is not the end of this case, but this is a landmark decision." Cantwell has helped to spearhead a national campaign against the mascot. In May, Sen. Cantwell and 49 other senators sent a letter to the NFL urging the league to pressure the Washington team to abandon the mascot.While NFL team owner Daniel Snyder clings to the offensive name, a local school is way ahead of him and the rest of the NFL: Port Townsend High School is switching its mascot from the racial slur to the Redhawks. Just a few days before the trademark board’s decision, this commercial (produced by the National Congress of American Indians) aired during the NBA finals. — M.L.