SF Chronicle Punts the Word “Redskin”

When the San Francisco 49ers take on the Washington Redskins later this season, at least one Bay Area newspaper will simply refer to the 49ers' rivals as "Washington." Editors at the San Francisco Chronicle said they will no longer use the term "Redskin" after the paper's style council determined it was a racial slur."They made a recommendation last week we stop using it," said Chronicle managing editor Audrey Cooper. "I approved it on Friday and it became effective immediately."Cooper said the paper took-up the issue after one of the paper's sports columnists wrote her a letter suggesting a discussion about the usage of the term "Redskin" since it is considered an offensive description by Native Americans."In this case we felt pretty strongly that there are other ways to refer to the team," said Cooper, "and still be clear and accurate about what we're talking about."Cooper said the newspaper would refer to the team as "Washington" and would only use the term "Redskin" when referring to the controversy over the name.The Chronicle is the latest major newspaper to oust the Redskin name from its pages. Its decision comes the same week Washington owner Daniel Snyder met with NFL...