SCOTUS ruling causes Feds to abandon Washington Redskins trademark fight

Last week, the Supreme Court handed down a ruling in the Matal v. Tam case. Other decisions garnered bigger headlines, so you may not have heard about it. Here's the story, in a nutshell: Simon Tam is the front man of an all-Asian-American rock band called "The Slants." He maintained that the band's name was not intended to be an insult but, since the term could be viewed as derogatory toward people of Asian descent, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office refused to register the band's name. Tam sued, the feds claimed the name was racist and his intent didn't matter, and the case eventually made its way to the Supreme Court. The Court ruled in Tam's favor.

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Immediately, people began wondering what that precedent would mean for the Washington Redskins football team, which is currently facing a similar situation. Wouldn't the exact same rationale applied to a band's name apply to a team? Now we know, the answer is "yes." In the wake of the SCOTUS ruling, the government will abandon its anti-Reskins fight and their trademarks will remain intact. From the Politico.

The Justice Department sent a letter to a federal appeals court Wednesday afternoon conceding that a Supreme Court decision last week in favor of an Asian-American band calling itself "The Slants" means that the NFL's Redskins will prevail in the battle over efforts to cancel the team's trademarks on the grounds that the name is disparaging to Native Americans. "The Supreme Court’s decision in Matal v. Tam [the Slants' case] controls the disposition of this case," Justice Department Civil Division attorney Mark Freeman wrote in the letter to the Richmond-based 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. "Consistent with Tam, the Court should reverse the judgment of the district court and remand the case with instructions to enter judgment in favor of Pro-Football."

We're sure social justice warriors are outraged, and we're sure they'll blame Trump. ...We're also sure that we - and the Washington Redskins - don't really care. Their P.C. witch hunt probably won't end (expect protests, because that's what they do) but at least their court case has been defeated.

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