Judge says Redskins can keep their name

This is not original reporting. All information has been compiled from The Washington Post article "Redskins Can Keep Trademark, Judge Rules" by Carol D. Leoning.

The Washington Redskins will be able to keep their name and logo according to a ruling by a U.S. District Judge citing a lack of evidence to show the detrimental affects of the name.

U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly overruled a 1999 federal board ruling that canceled six Redskin trademarks in her October 1, 2003 ruling. She said the evidence was irrelevant and outdated.

Activists who had spearheaded actions to force the Redskins to change their name were unable to present enough support and evidence to the judge. Kollar-Kotelly added that legal cases presented by Native Americans were weakened because they waited 25 years to challenge the team's name.

The ruling will protect millions of dollars in trademarks and sales for the Redskins. Without the trademarks team owner Daniel Snyder would not have sole rights to use the team logo on paraphernalia.

Activists say they have not given up on their cause yet. According to Michael Lindsay, an attorney representing the activists, the case "is really the difference between calling a team the Washington African Americans and calling them the Washington N-Word. And we believe we've proved that, and we will prevail at some later stage."

Snyder is equally determined to preserve the Redskins name. He is willing to take the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court if this current decision is overruled.