Ruling on Redskins to be made soon

A federal judge said Wednesday a resolution to the long-running dispute over whether the team name and logo for the Washington Redskins are insulting to Native Americans, is close at hand. Any ruling wouldn't force the team to change its nickname, but the team could lose the federal registration for its trademarks, which grants exclusive rights to use the team name and logo on T-shirts, caps and other merchandise worth an estimated $5 million a year.

For those Redskins' fans who don't find the name offensive in any way, it will come as good news that owner Daniel Snyder has no plans to change the name under any circumstance.

The plaintiffs, led by Cheyenne activist and District resident Suzan Shown Harjo, cite a 1946 federal law that prohibits the government from registering a trademark that disparages any race, religion or other group. With hopes of forcing the team to change its name, Harjo took the legal battle to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 1992, and a panel of that agency sided with her in 1999.

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