Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid on Tuesday slammed the NFL for focusing on “Deflategate” and punishing New England Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady instead of forcing the Washington Redskins to change the team’s name.
“I find it stunning that the NFL is more concerned about how much air is in a ball than with a racist franchise name that denigrates Native Americans across our country,” Mr. Reid said on the Senate floor.
Mr. Reid, Nevada Democrat, has been a fierce critic of the team’s name, refused to utter it and has backed unsuccessful efforts to force a change.
“The Redskins name is a racist name,” he said. “So I wish the Commissioner would act as swiftly and decisively in changing the name of the Washington, D.C. team, as he did enforcing how much air is in the football.”
His remarks followed the NFL announcement that Mr. Brady would be suspended for four games without pay for using under inflated footballs to gain an advantage in the playoffs. The Patriots also were slapped with a $1 million and lost a first-round pick in 2016 NFL Draft and fourth-round pick in the 2017 draft.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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