Reid rips NFL for suspending Brady, ignoring ‘racist’ Redskins name

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is slamming the NFL’s priorities as out of whack because of the league’s decision to suspend New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady but live with the Washington Redskins “racist” franchise name.

“I find it stunning that the National Football League is more concerned about how much air is in a football than with a racist franchise name that denigrates Native Americans across the country,” he said Tuesday in comments on the Senate floor.

{mosads}“The Redskins name is a racist name,” Reid said. 

The NFL on Monday announced Brady would receive a four-game suspension for his role in “deflategate.”

An investigation found the team used under-inflated footballs in the AFC championship game last year, and that Brady probably knew about it. The Patriots, who went on to win their fourth Super Bowl, were fined $1 million.

Reid, who has repeatedly criticized the Washington team’s name, said he wished NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell would “act as swiftly and decisively in changing the name of the D.C. team as he did about not enough air in a football.”

The Washington team has been under pressure to change its name, with opponents saying that it is offensive. Last year, 50 senators demanded that the team change its name.

But Dan Snyder, the owner of the Washington Redskins, has said that the team’s name is “not an issue.”

“The real issues are real-life issues, real-life needs, and I think it’s time that people focus on reality,” he said, according to The Associated Press.