Redskins should change name, Pelosi says

Rep. Nancy PelosiNancy Patricia D'Alesandro PelosiDonald Trump proved himself by winning fight for border security Trump should beware the 'clawback' Congress The national emergency will haunt Republicans come election season MORE believes the Washington Redskins should find a new name.

In an interview with The Hill, the California Democrat said it “probably would be a good idea if they change the name.”

The House minority leader is the latest politician who has embraced a name change. President Obama earlier this month said he would “think about changing” the team name if he owned the football team.

Pelosi noted that when she was growing up in Baltimore, the city didn’t have a football team.

“So one of the first songs I ever learned in my whole life was, ‘Hail to the Redskins.’ I didn’t have the faintest idea what I was saying, but I’ve known it forever,” she said.

Pelosi noted she has been focusing on other issues but is aware that Native American groups have criticized the name as a slur.

Other politicians who have called for a change include Reps. Betty McCollumBetty Louise McCollumLawmakers stunned by national park shutdown funding reversal Overnight Energy: GOP pushes back on climate | 2018 was fourth hottest year on record | Park Service reverses on using fees Park Service backtracks, won’t use entrance fees to pay for shutdown operations MORE (D-Minn.) and Tom Cole (R-Okla.) and Dels. Eleanor Holmes NortonEleanor Holmes NortonDems push to include contractor back pay in any shutdown deal Dem bill would let essential workers collect unemployment during shutdown DC and Puerto Rico share the long-ignored dream of statehood MORE (D-D.C.) and Eni Faleomavaega (D-American Samoa).

Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a civil rights hero, told The Hill in March that the Redskins should consider a name change.

Redskins owner Dan Snyder has said he will never change the name.