FCC won't ban Redskins use for Radio and TV stations

Story by Inside Radio

The Federal Communications Commission is refusing to order radio and television stations to stop using the term “Redskins” as it rejects a petition seeking to block the license renewal for a station owned by Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder. But the fight appears far from over.

Georgetown University law professor John Banzhaf had led the charge, urging the FCC to reject the application filed by Red Zebra Broadcasting’s WWXX, Buckland, VA (94.3) seeking a new license. They claimed the “ESPN 980” WTEM simulcast wasn’t fit to be a license holder since it used the word “Redskins” on-air, which they characterized as “a derogatory racial and ethnic slur” and a violation of government limits on profanity and obscenity.

But Audio Division chief Peter Doyle concluded in the seven-page decision that “Redskins” doesn’t fit the bill since it’s not sexual or excretory in nature. “The First Amendment and Section 326 [of the Communications Act] prohibit the Commission from censoring program material or interfering with broadcasters’ free speech rights,” Doyle concludes. He also points out there are no provisions in the law or FCC rulebooks that specifically bans hate speech.

Communications attorneys had said it was doubtful the FCC would step into the fight or try to limit stations’ use of the word. Red Zebra has also noted opinion surveys show a “small minority” of Americans object to its use. The company had been pushing the FCC to quickly rule on its license renewal to undercut Banzhaf’s threat to bring similar actions against radio and TV stations around the country.

The decision by the FCC was not unexpected. That’s according to Banzhaf, who brought the challenge. Disappointed but undeterred, he now vows to appeal the staff-level decision to the full Commission and onto the U.S. Court of Appeals if necessary.

“We have many more strings to our bow,” Banzhaf says. He points out a similar petition seeking to block the license renewal of Fox Television’s KTTV-TV, Los Angeles should get a “more serious consideration” by the agency since it was filed on time, unlike the one filed against WWXX. And Banzhaf says the L.A. petition includes several additional legal arguments, including that stations that use the term “Redskins” on-air are creating a “racially hostile environment.

Appeal likely in FCC’s ‘Redskins’ ruling.