President stakes out cautious position against controversial NFL mascot. Sort of.
The president at an August event celebrating the 1972 Dolphins, who defeated the Redskins in that season's Super Bowl.
Brendan Smialowski / Getty
Without going quite so far as to denounce the Washington Redskins' nickname, President Obama poured a bit of executive-branch gasoline on the ongoing controversy in an interview yesterday with the Associated Press, saying he would "think about changing" the name if he were in charge of the franchise.
Obama noted that he didn't believe Redskins fans intended to disparage Native Americans by supporting the team, but called objections to the nickname "legitimate concerns" and said "a sizable group of people" were offended by it.
Washington owner Daniel Snyder has said he will never consider changing the Redskins name.
Obama also apparently joked during the interview about wanting to help manage a basketball franchise after his presidency ends, which, sources say, would be totally badass.
LINK: How The “Redskins” Debate Goes Over On An Actual Indian Reservation
