Free Republic

The Washington Redskins responded Saturday to Senate Democrats saying the nickname is a racial slur and must be changed, saying it is “respectful” to Native Americans and suggesting the lawmakers don’t have all of the facts. In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, team President Bruce Allen wrote: “Our use of ‘Redskins’ as the name of our football team for more than 80 years has always been respectful of and shown reverence toward the proud legacy and traditions of Native Americans.” […] The three-page letter—titled “The Truth about the Redskins’ Name and Logo”—references research that “the term ‘Redskins’...

D.C. rapper WaleWale told his 3.6 million Twitter followers Friday that Sen. Harry Reid’s recent comments on the Washington Redskins‘ name was just his way of bringing attention to himself. Wale, whose real name is Olubowale Victor Akintimehin, said that Mr. Reid was “sketchy” since he once made comments about then-Sen. Barack Obama’s lack of “negro dialect” in the run-up to the 2008 election. “Anybody been followin the Senator Reid Stuff?” the musician tweeted. “Senator Reid got a lot to say about other ppl bein racist . But I did a lil research . He sketchy. … Basically he [trying...

His voice cracking with emotion, Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice acknowledged Friday that he “failed miserably” and apologized for the actions that led to his arrest on assault charges. Rice was arrested following a Feb. 15 altercation in Atlantic City, in which he allegedly struck fiancee Janay Palmer. The couple married in late February, and both went to the stage at the team training complex for their first public comment since the arrest. “I failed miserably, but I wouldn’t call myself a failure because I’m working my way back up,” Rice said. Rice was accepted Tues­day into a diversion...

(Reuters) - Lawyers for O.J. Simpson submitted a bulky document requesting a new trial for the former NFL star in an attempt to have his 2008 armed-robbery conviction overturned, court officials said on Thursday. The attorneys for Simpson, who is not eligible for parole until 2017, filed the opening brief in his December 2013 appeal before a midnight-Wednesday deadline, said Nevada Supreme Court spokesman Michael Sommermeyer. The document came in at 19,993 words, well over the 14,000 word limit, along with a request to exceed the word count because of the complexity of the case. Before the brief can be...

Letters signed by 50 U.S. senators urging the league to change the Washington Redskins name were sent on Thursday to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. The senators draw a parallel between the NBA's no-tolerance policy regarding the racist comments made by Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling and asks the NFL to act similarly. Redskins owner Daniel Snyder has been steadfast in his stance that he will not change his team's nickname. "Today, we urge you and the National Football League to send the same clear message as the NBA did: that racism and bigotry have no place in professional sports,"...

Actor Terry Crews used a very loaded word to describe his former employer, the NFL. “There is this thing where the team kind of looks at [itself] as your father,” Crews said in an interview with Sports Illustated Now. “And it’s kind of weird, because it’s like ‘You’d do this for the team, right?’

May 22, 2014, 09:39 am 50 senators call for Redskins name change By Mario Trujillo Fifty Democratic senators are pushing the NFL to change the name of the Washington Redskins. In a letter sent Thursday to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Thursday, the group urged him to follow the lead of the NBA in punishing Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling for making racially insensitive remarks. "The despicable comments made by Mr. Sterling have opened up a national conversation about race relations," said the letter spearheaded by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.). "We believe...

Barack Obama to Seattle Seahawks: I GOT JOKES!!!! 5/21/2014 12:42 PM PDT BY TMZ STAFF Host: "Welcome to comedy hour here at the White House! Next up ... a very funny comedian ... hails all the way from Nairobi ...(pauses for laughter) ... just kidding! But seriously, You've seen this guy on "Tonight Show" and also you may know him from killing Osama bin Laden .... ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for the comedic stylings of BARACK OOOOOBAMA!!!!!!!!!!!" Yes, the Headliner-Of-State broke out the jokes during a speech at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. today to honor the reigning Super...

Another summer, another class-action lawsuit against the NFL. This time, eight former NFL players—Richard Dent, Jim McMahon, Jeremy Newberry, Roy Green, J.D. Hill, Keith Van Horne, Ron Stone, and Ron Pritchard—filed a class-action lawsuit alleging that the NFL supplied them with illegally prescription painkillers throughout their careers, which led to medical complications such as addiction later in life.

When I was growing up everyone one used to know who the mayors of major cities were. In Chicago, it was a Daley, always a Daley. In New York, it was it was Ed Koch. In Los Angeles, it was Tom Bradley. But few can name the mayor of LA today. It’s so much the better for LA’s current mayor Eric Garcetti, who, by all accounts outside of Los Angeles, is doing a lousy job. And while sheer size ensures that the metro area of Los Angeles counts for something economically, LA is no longer the cultural and business...

TLANTA – Minneapolis has been awarded the 2018 Super Bowl by NFL owners. The owners rewarded the Vikings for arranging to build a new stadium on the site of the old Metrodome by choosing Minneapolis over New Orleans and Indianapolis. The big game will be staged in the Twin Cities for the second time. It was there in 1992, when Washington beat Buffalo. Minneapolis' new $1 billion stadium is scheduled to open in 2016.

Tampa Bay have become the fifth NFL team to get served with a lawsuit from its cheerleaders, it emerged today. Papers were filed against the Buccaneers by former cheerleader Manouchcar Pierre-Val accusing them of violating federal wage law. It follows similar actions against the Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Oakland Raiders and New York Jets filed by cheerleaders claiming they were underpaid.

A group of retired NFL players says in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that the league, thirsty for profits, illegally supplied them with risky narcotics and other painkillers that numbed their injuries for games and led to medical complications down the road. The drug lawsuit names eight players, including three members of the NFL champion 1985 Chicago Bears: Hall of Fame defensive end Richard Dent, offensive lineman Keith Van Horne, and quarterback Jim McMahon. Lawyers seek class-action status, and they say in the filing that more than 500 other former players have signed on to the lawsuit. McMahon says in the...

As expected, the suspension of Miami Dolphins safety Don Jones effectively cost him a few days of the voluntary offseason workouts. Jones, who was fined and excused from the team after tweeting "omg" and "horrible" when Michael Sam and his boyfriend kissed following Sam's selection in the seventh round of the NFL Draft, making Sam the first openly gay player in the NFL.

The NFL could dismantle AT&T's $48.5 billion purchase of DirecTV. According to a clause in a regulatory filing for the purchase, AT&T has the right to walk away from the deal if DirecTV can't renew its agreement with the NFL

There was a discussion on FR about Michael Sam selling T-Shirts on his website. It got me thinking when was this website created? If it was created after he came out then he is an entrepreneirial capitalist but if it was created before then he's all about himself and his gayness. So I went to check on my local domain register and low and behold it was created October 13, 2013 but this where Sam might be in a little bit of trouble withe NCAA. The site was registered by his now agents Empire Athletes of Santa Monica, California and...

So if you haven't heard, this is interesting. It seems that Vito Cammisano, the youthful lover of Michael Sam, has some colorful ties. His father went to jail for running an underground gambling ring and his grandfather was a Kansas City mob boss. http://www.bet.com/news/celebrities/2014/05/14/michael-sam-s-boyfriend-has-mob-ties-porn-past.html?cid=socialMusicCeleb_20140514_23927304 But even more interesting is that Queerty claims Cammisano is the ex-lover of Austin Wilde, described on one pornography database as a 5'9" "muscular, shaved young stud" who has made 36 adult films, clocking a total of 56 scenes. Some of the films to his credit include the following, with summaries, follow. Don't click on...

It seems the politically correct liberals in charge of the NFL are admirers of communism. In Red China, Cambodia, Vietnam and other countries communist tyrants forced citizens into re-education camps to “enlighten” their subjects about the wonderful “benefits” of totalitarianism. Those brutal examples of communist treachery should be relegated to the dustbin of history. Instead, in the supposedly free country of the United States, re-education camps are used to enlighten our citizens about the evils of racism, homophobia and sexism. The latest incident occurred just this week with Dolphins safety Don Jones. He had the audacity to object to ESPN...

Michael Sam’s declaration in February that he wanted just to be known as a football player, and not a gay football player, started to unravel with the news that he was working with the Oprah Winfrey Network on a reality show on his "historic" journey. Who was causing the distraction now? Not the “haters.” Sources told ESPN.com that the network's plan was to follow Sam's personal life as he tried to make the Rams, dividing the content into six to eight segments. The Rams and the NFL said they were unaware of the project prior to its announcement. “After careful...

Wade Davis kept his secret from teammates until nine years after his NFL playing days were over. "I never even thought about telling anyone I was gay," he says, speaking to PEOPLE as part of an exclusive portfolio of gay athletes in professional sports. "I never saw someone who was gay who looked like me, acted like me, who was accepted. It wasn't unimaginable that I wouldn't be accepted."