Navajo President Shows Support for Washington Redskins, Attends Game

By RantSports Staff on October 13, 2014

The Washington Redskins have a lot of supporters out there as groups lobby to have the team’s name changed. However, on Sunday, they received some unexpected support that could force their opposition to take a different approach.

As you can see above, Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly, middle, was in attendance at Sunday’s showdown between the Redskins and the Arizona Cardinals. Not only is he donning a Washington hat, but he was even spotted sitting next to Redskins owner Dan Snyder, who has been adamant since this issue arose that he would never change the team name.

Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly with team owner Dan Snyder pic.twitter.com/rgxx1SGSeR

— Redskins Facts (@redskinsfacts) October 12, 2014

The issue has raged on for the past few months that the name “Redskins” is offensive to Native Americans. While there are obviously two sides to every argument, the anti-Redskins side certainly took a hit on Sunday with a prominent member in the Native American community showing his support for the team, going as far as sitting with their stubborn owner and wearing a hat featuring the team’s logo.

According to Shelly’s spokesman, the President was there to discuss an NFL franchising agreement involving Navajo artists.

It’ll be interesting to see how this affects the war currently being waged against the Redskins.