Bill Text: NJ AR177 | 2014-2015 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Finds team name of Washington D.C. National Football League team offensive; urges New York Giants to refrain from selling any merchandise or using advertising or promotional material that contains name of Washington, D.C. football team.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-10-16 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee [AR177 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2014-AR177-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman PATRICK J. DIEGNAN, JR.
District 18 (Middlesex)
Assemblyman RALPH R. CAPUTO
District 28 (Essex)
SYNOPSIS
Finds team name of Washington D.C. National Football League team offensive; urges New York Giants to refrain from selling any merchandise or using advertising or promotional material that contains name of Washington, D.C. football team.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Assembly Resolution finding the team name of the Washington, D.C. National Football League team offensive and urging the New York Giants to refrain from selling any merchandise or using any advertising or promotional material that contains the offensive and derogatory name of the Washington, D.C. football team.
Whereas, The National Congress of American Indians, United South and Eastern Tribes, and the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, organizations that represent the interests of more than two million Native Americans, recently passed resolutions supporting a name change for the Washington, D.C. National Football League team because those organizations find the team name to be racially offensive; and
Whereas, The United States Patent and Trademark Office has invalidated six of the Washington, D.C. football team's federal trademark protections on the grounds that the name is "disparaging to Native Americans" and the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission has called the team name "offensive and derogatory"; and
Whereas, Asked in May 2013 if the Washington, D.C. football team would ever consider changing its name, team owner Daniel Snyder was quoted as saying, "We'll never change the name. It's that simple. NEVER - you can use caps"; and
Whereas, Although Mr. Snyder may never change the name of the Washington, D.C. football team, this House refuses to condone or promote the perpetuation of a team name that is highly offensive and derogatory and finds itself obligated to endeavor to bring an end to the use of those types of racially offensive, disparaging, and derogatory terms; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. This House finds the team name of the Washington, D.C. National Football League team to be offensive, derogatory, and disparaging to Native Americans.
b. This House urges the New York Giants to refrain from selling any merchandise or using advertising or promotional material that contains the offensive, derogatory, and disparaging team name of the Washington, D.C. National Football League team.
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly to the President and Chief Executive Officer of the New York Giants, the Chairman and Executive Vice President of the New York Giants, the Commissioner of the National Football League, and the majority owner of the Washington, D.C. National Football League team.
STATEMENT
This resolution finds the team name of the Washington, D.C. National Football League team to be offensive, derogatory, and disparaging to Native Americans. The resolution urges the New York Giants to refrain from selling any merchandise or using any advertising or promotional material that contains the name of the Washington, D.C. football team, including, in particular, on the date of December 14, 2014 when the New York Giants host the Washington, D.C. football team at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
