On the recordJune 18, 2014
I come to the floor because the patent office has just ruled that the name of the Washington football team is not patentable because it is a slur. We are so excited to know that finally people are recognizing this issue can no longer be a business case for the NFL to use this patent. They will not be able to forcefully exclude other people for having derivatives of this logo or the name, thereby putting a big dent in the business case the NFL has. So many people have helped in this effort. I want to applaud them, from Senator Reid and his leadership, to Amanda Blackhorse and Suzan Harjo. Those are the people who have been fighting this case before the patent office. To all of the people who have watched the video on changethemascot.org, a Web site that basically depicts why Native Americans want to be viewed as human beings and not a mascot, we want to thank all of them. This is not the end of this case. But this is a landmark decision by the patent office that says the NFL team here in Washington, DC, does not have a patentable name, and that this is an offensive term, not patentable by the patent office. I hope all the business decisions over there at the team will understand this is no longer a business case, and will get off of this spurious name that we need to change. I thank my colleague in Maine for yielding me this opportunity to speak on this breaking important issue. I thank my colleagues here on the floor. ____________________
