FCC Rejects Argument That "Redskins" Is a Dirty Word

The Federal Communications Commission isn't going to fine broadcasters for using the term "Redskins". The FCC has rejected a petition by George Washington University law professor John Banzhaf III to deny a Washington-area radio station’s broadcast license renewal because announcers there routinely use the word “Redskins” when talking about the team. The petition argued that the word is akin to an obscenity or hate speech and shouldn’t be used on the air. “Because the law defines profanity as sexual or excretory in nature, we cannot find the word profane,” the FCC’s Media Bureau said in a notice denying the petition.