Political Quotes

“I submit to my colleagues and some 181 million sports fans all over America who love the game of football just as much as I do, having played football for 4 years in high school, again and again, Mr. Speaker, this issue will not go away; and with all due respect, Mr. Speaker, I call upon the 32 football club owners of the National Football League and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to get rid of this derogatory word or racial slur, ``redskin,'' which currently describes the Washington football franchise. Mr. Speaker, the National Football League cannot just casually pass the responsibility to Mr. Dan Snyder, owner of the Washington team. The Washington football franchise is about a $1.3 billion business, rated third in the NFL, but the NFL is also a beneficiary and, I'm sure, gets a fair percentage of the proceeds from television broadcasts and concessions for selling clothing and sports souvenirs by these 32 club owners. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank President Barack Obama for weighing in on this issue just 2 weeks ago, and I hope NFL Commissioner Goodell will seriously pursue this matter. If Commissioner Goodell feels that if we are offending one person that we should listen, then listen to the leaders of the National Congress of American Indians, the oldest and the largest Native American organization, which represents the vast majority of some 5.2 million Native American Indians today. And when I say ``majority,'' Mr.…”