National Congress of American Indians: Washington NFL Players Should Boycott

In an open letter sent to the Washingtonian, the president of the National Congress of American Indians called for players from the NFL's Washington team to boycott games until owner Dan Snyder changes the franchise's mascot. 

Fawn Sharp said the extreme measure is necessary to create meaningful change: 

"It's time for the players to rip down that name like it was a statue of a Confederate general in their locker room.

"I am calling for members of the NFL franchise in Washington, DC, to rise to the occasion and become heroes. All I ask is that you state the unequivocal moral truth: just as you would never play for the Washington [insert any other racial slur], you will no longer play for any team branded with a racial slur against Native Americans.

"As long as that team name stands, players of conscience should sit at home rather than wear the NFL equivalent of the Confederate flag."

The franchise has taken small steps in recent days, removing club founder George Preston Marshall's name from the team's Ring of Honor and removing a statue of him from outside RFK Stadium—Washington's former home field. 

Marshall's racist acts and legacy have long cast a shadow over the franchise. He was a staunch opponent of allowing Black players in the NFL and was the league's last owner to integrate his team.

Yet distancing from Marshall hardly goes far enough for Sharp or many others around football who are fighting for Washington to change the name. 

Snyder, meanwhile, has repeatedly said he won't adopt a new mascot, choosing instead to continue using a defined slur. 

"Who is willing to add their names to those of Muhammad Ali and Colin Kaepernick, who exchanged transient athletic stardom for historic glory?" Sharp wrote. "... The only question is what player will show the courage, the integrity, the vision, and the compassion to be the hero that first stands up for what is right."