Native Americans seek dismissal of Redskins lawsuit

The group of Native Americans embroiled in a battle with the Washington Redskins football team has asked a court to dismiss a lawsuit that the team filed against it.

In a motion to dismiss filed at the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, the group said the team does not have a legal right to sue it.

The case surrounds the US Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s decision to strip the team of six trademarks, each containing the word Redskins, after ruling the term was offensive to Native Americans.

The National Football League team filed a lawsuit last month arguing that the term was not offensive and that the office erred in its decision to cancel the trademarks.

But in its motion to dismiss, filed on Monday (September 22), the Native Americans, who include the Oneida Indian Nation, said based on the law they are not “parties of interest” who should answer to a lawsuit.

The motion added that the lawsuit must be thrown out because district courts require judges at that level to take cases only when an actual “case or controversy” exists between two parties.

The group—led by Amanda Blackhorse, a social worker—has no legal or economic interest in getting control of the trademarks for itself as a competing business might, the motion said.

“The court’s ruling in this case will not affect any of their economic or legal rights or obligations. They stand to gain nothing or lose nothing. Although the defendants might be pleased or disappointed with the outcome of this case, that does not make them ‘parties in interest’,” it added.

The decision to cancel the team’s trademarks has attracted widespread interest since it was announced earlier this summer.

US President Barack Obama said he would consider changing the name and the team has since hired public relations firm Burson-Marsteller in an attempt to improve its image.

Earlier this week, it was reported that the first episode in the new series of animated comedy South Park would poke fun at the dispute.

In a clip posted on The Verge, character Eric Cartman is seen naming his new business after the team and covering it in merchandise following the trademark’s cancellation. A caricature of the team’s owner Dan Snyder then confronts Cartman and claims it is offensive to the football team.

In a statement, the team’s attorney Bob Raskopf told the The Washington Post: “On behalf of the club, we remain confident in our legal case and look forward to a hearing before the district court.”