According to staff writer Robert Klemko, The MMQB plans to no longer use the word "Redskins." If that's the case, Peter King's football-only SI microsite instantly becomes the most popular and influential outlet to eschew the controversial team nickname.
Klemko revealed the decision yesterday evening during a radio interview:
“I know that our site, we’ve talked about it, and we’re not going to use Redskins in our writing,” Klemko said on CBS Sports Radio’s MoJo with Chris Moore and Brian Jones.
“We’re going to say ‘Washington football team,’” Klemko added. “And it’s not something we’re going to publicize or write about. We’re just not going to do it.”
This doesn't appear to be an official mandate just yet—Peter King said that "no final decision has been made." But in a week-old piece from Andrew Brandt on Washington's handling of Robert Griffin III health, "Redskins" doesn't appear. Nor did Klemko use it in a brief interview with Joe Theismann posted yesterday, though Theismann used it several times.
Last fall, Washington City Paper and the Kansas City Star both announced they'd abstain from using the nickname because, well, it's a slur. In the last month, Mother Jones, Slate, and The New Republic all followed suit. In an interview last week, ESPN exec Rob King referred to them as the "Washington National Football club."
While it might seem counterproductive to highlight a problem by ignoring it, the move draws attention to the most crucial argument in this whole controversy: The word Redskin wouldn't be allowed in discourse if it weren't the name of a billion-dollar football team.