Jason Hatcher Says Redskins Don't Get Favorable Calls Based on Team's Nickname

The Washington Redskins’ team name has been a subject of controversy for years, but defensive end Jason Hatcher threw a new wrinkle into the discussion Sunday following his squad’s 44-16 loss to the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium.

Master Tesfatsion of the Washington Post passed along the defensive end’s comments suggesting the name on the front of the jersey impacts the way Washington is officiated:

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It’s going to be hard, you know, we fighting against teams and the referees. It just is what it is.

I’m not saying this out of character to get fined, but it is what it is. I don’t know if it’s about the name or what, but at the same time, we play football too. We work our butt off too. Don’t single us out. At the end of the day, it’s the name. Don’t worry about the name—we players and we work our butt off too. I’m just frustrated with it. We shouldn’t have to be punished for that. It’s been every game, calls after calls that should’ve been made in our favor, but it goes to them. It’s just not right. We in the league too. We’re National Football players. We got a team too. We go out there, and we sweat and work hard too. I don’t give a crap about the name. We are players. We’ve got feelings too, and we want to win too. 

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Carol Maloney of NBC4 in Washington, D.C., shared the interview:    

Hatcher and his teammates were likely frustrated with a critical call during the first half of Sunday’s game that nullified a touchdown from cornerback Chris Culliver. The officials flagged Culliver for unnecessary roughness when they thought he made an illegal helmet-to-helmet hit on tight end Greg Olsen before the cornerback picked off the pass and ran it for a score on the other end.   

Rather than giving Washington a 21-14 lead, the call allowed Carolina to keep possession. Naturally, the Panthers scored six plays later to take a 21-14 lead themselves and never looked back.