There is a joke circulating that the NFL team in the District of Columbia wants to change its name by eliminating "Washington" so as not to be associated with a poor role model for young fans of football. Humor notwithstanding, however, disparaging speech is no laughing matter. As an individual I condemn it; as a lawyer, however, I think that protecting disparaging expression is the essence of what is protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution (there is really no need to protect complimentary speech). The necessity of protecting disparaging speech in the interest of preserving the truly free marketplace of ideas envisioned by the First Amendment is why I think it is likely that the misguided effort by the D.C. NFL team will succeed in perpetuating its Native American trademark despite the fact that it offends many. That view is shared by 18 distinguished law professors, who, earlier this month, filed a so-called friend-of-the-court brief supporting the D.C. NFL team's trademark.
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