FCC will consider punishing broadcasters for saying 'Redskins'

The Federal Communications Commission will consider punishing broadcasters for using the Washington Redskins' nickname on air, FCC chairman Tom Wheeler said

The Federal Communications Commission will consider punishing broadcasters for using the Washington Redskins' nickname on air, FCC chairman Tom Wheeler said during a conference call with reporters, according to Reuters. 

Legal activist John Banzhaf III, a law professor at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., petitioned the FCC to revoke a Washington radio station's broadcast license due to its repeated use of the nickname. 

Wheeler said his organization will "be looking into that petition."

"There are a lot of names and descriptions that were used over time that are inappropriate today," Wheeler added, according to Reuters. "And I think the name that is attributed to the Washington football club is one of those." 

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In June, the franchise had its trademark revoked on the grounds that it was "disparaging to Native Americans."

An SI poll earlier this month found that only 25 percent of fans thought the name should be changed. 

CBS broadcaster Phil Simms told SI.com earlier this month he would try not to use the name while broadcasting Washington's game against the Giants in Week 4. 

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A senator from Washington state also announced she would introduce legislation to strip the NFL of its tax-exempt status as a response to the league's support of the nickname.

Washington owner Dan Snyder infamously told USA Today in 2013, "We'll never change the name. It's that simple. NEVER — you can use caps."

- Dan Gartland