Maryland private school bans students from wearing Redskins clothing

NORTH BETHESDA, Md. - Students at a Maryland private school are being told to leave their Washington Redskins apparel at home.

When the NFL season rolls around D.C., Maryland and Virginia are Redskins country. However, it is not at the Green Acres School in North Bethesda.

For years, there has been a movement to get the Washington Redskins to change its name because some Native Americans have said it is offensive.

In a letter to parents, Neal Brown, the head of Green Acres School, asked them to not send their children to school with the team’s logo or name. Brown wrote:

Brown said this was not an easy decision for him.

"I feel strongly that wearing clothing with the name of our local football team or the logo – that those were really against our school's mission and our diversity statement,” Brown said. “I feel that the name of the team is a racial slur. I think the logo at best is an ethnic stereotype. At worst, it is deeply demeaning.”

School administrators said the ban on Redskins gear came after long talks in classrooms and questions over the impact of team logos like the Washington Redskins that are based on race or ethnicity.

FOX 5 asked Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe about the team’s name. Since the violence in Charlottesville, the governor has declared he wants all confederate statues in Virginia removed to stop hate speech.

However, McAuliffe has not called on the Redskins to change their name as he is trying to get the team to build a new stadium in Virginia.

So what is the difference between these two matters? McAuliffe said it is about public spaces and a private company.

"There is no moral equivalency, please!” the governor said. “We are talking about monuments that are owned and controlled by the state. State property versus a private company. A private company has to make their own decisions. As governor, I take action on those things that I can affect.”

For their part, the Washington Redskins and their owner Daniel Snyder have insisted for years that they will never change the name of their team.