Nick Piccone
A federal judge’s ruling back in July to uphold the Redskins trademark due to the offensiveness towards Native Americans is being challenged – and you’ll never guess by who.
According to the Washington Post, the Redskins have filed an appeal to the judge’s ruling, citing other offensive trademarks that were approved by the government. Some of them include: Capitalism Sucks Donkey Balls, Take Yo Panties Off clothing, Dangerous Negro shirts, Midget-Man condoms, Party With Sluts, Redneck Army apparel, HOT OCTOPUSS anti-premature ejaculation creams, Booty Call sex aids and Dumb Blonde hair products – and that’s just a few that were listed in the article and Oliver’s segment.
The Redskins’ argument? Free speech, of course.
“A ban on registering ‘disparaging’ trademarks unconstitutionally burdens speech based on content and viewpoint, just as would a ban on registering copyrights for ‘disparaging’ books,” wrote the team’s attorneys, led by Lisa Blatt and Robert Raskopf.
Maury Lane, a spokesman for the team, said in a statement: “In fact, since 1870, over three million trademarks have been registered, and we have found none that have ever been cancelled for being disparaging. We believe that the government’s action tramples core principles of free speech and sets a dangerous precedent for other brands.”
It gets better. The appeal also claims, “Everything is potentially disparaging to everyone.” Oliver then directed his diatribe to Redskins owner, Dan Snyder. “Intending to honor something is a lot different from actually honoring it,” Oliver said. “Although, since you seem to feel differently, let me suggest that everyone now honor Dan Snyder by renaming their fantasy football teams ‘Dan Snyder is a thin-skinned racist whose sunglasses look like something a tacky pedophile might settle for.’ And hey, hey, Dan, don’t get upset. Everything is potentially disparaging to somebody.”
Video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZwqwcDS8lM