CBS Announcer Won't Say 'Redskins' During Thursday's NFL Game

A CBS sports analyst announced this week that he will try to avoid saying the NFL team name Washington Redskins in their upcoming match against the New York Giants.

CBS sports analyst Phil Simms says that during Thursday night's NFL game on his network, he will describe the team only as Washington, avoiding the term Redskins as it has been deemed offensive to the United States' Native American population.

Simms' decision has been met with outrage by some Redskins fans, with some arguing that the announcer should not be allowed to oversee Redskins games if he is not even willing to say the team's name.

However, Simms was also commended for his decision by groups like the Change the Mascot campaign, which seeks to have the mascots of national teams changed if they are offensive to a population.

"The Change the Mascot campaign continues to gain momentum as an ever-growing national chorus speaks out against the team's offensive and derogatory name," the campaign wrote in a press release related to Simms's decision.

"Just this week, Phil Simms and Tony Dungy, two of the most prominent voices in the National Football League, said they likely won't use the team's R-word name when discussing the Washington franchise."

Church denominations, politicians, and Native American tribes have implored the NFL team to change its name, saying it is offensive to Native Americans in the U.S., but the team's owners have refused to do so. The Comedy Central cartoon "South Park" even poked fun at the team during its past episode in an attempt to show that it sees the name as offensive.