California nears statewide ban on use of ‘Redskins’

California is a governor’s signature away from implementing a statewide ban on the use of “Redskins” by any of its schools.

The senate and assembly last week passed the California Racial Mascots Act, which would prohibit public schools from using “Redskins” as a school or athletic team name, mascot or nickname beginning in 2017. There are currently four public schools in California that use the nickname, according to The Huffington Post.

The near 15-month lag in enforcing the law would allow schools to take the necessary measures in choosing new mascots, which would include changing logos in facilities and purchasing new apparel. Those expenses can add up for schools already struggling with bare-bones budgets.

The bill awaits Governor Jerry Brown’s signature.

“As the state with the largest Native American population in the country, we should not continue to allow a racial slur to be used by our public schools,”Assemblyman Luis Alejo said in a press release. “It’s time for California to do the right thing and phase out the use of this, dictionary defined, racial slur.”

“This milestone is a major victory for everyone continuing the fight to bring an end to the use of this demeaning epithet in California and all across the country,” Change The Mascot’s leaders told The Huffington Post. “Faced with this latest development, the National Football League must now try to reconcile how it can keep defending the use of a racial slur that the most populous state in the country, which is also home to three of the league’s teams, deems too offensive for its own public school system.”