A lawsuit unrelated to the Washington Redskins name change debate has been steered in a different direction.
A federal judge hearing a lawsuit issued a ruling last Tuesday where he refused to use the team’s name.
United States District Judge Peter J. Messitte, who presides in the District of Maryland, was hearing a lawsuit brought by former New York Giants linebacker Barrett Green.
Green sued the Redskins, claiming that he was injured by the team as a result of a bounty program put in place by Washington’s defensive coaches.
In the ruling, Messitte allowed a portion of the lawsuit to proceed, which means it will go to trial.
The ruling made waves, though, because the 21-page ruling comes with a footnote about the Redskins, who are owned by a controlling company set up by Dan Snyder known as “Pro Football Inc.”
“Pro Football’s team is popularly known as the Washington ‘Redskins,’ but the Court will refrain from using the team name unless reference is made to a direct quote where the name appears,” Messitte wrote in the opinion. “Pro Football’s team will be referred to hereafter simply as ‘the Washington Team.’”
Lawyers arguing the case told the Washington Post that Messitte ordered them not to use the team name in open court hearings.
