Jeb Bush likes Washington Redskins’ nickname: ‘I don’t find it offensive’

The fact that the Washington Redskins reside in the nation’s capital (or near it, at least) means that we get way more politicians commenting on their nickname than any of us really need.

Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush felt the need to weigh in, for some random reason. And Bush is fine with the nickname.

“I don’t think it should change it,” Bush said on the inaugural episode of “The Arena” radio program on Sirius XM, according to ABC News. “But again, I don’t think politicians ought to be having any say about that, to be honest with you. I don’t find it offensive. Native American tribes generally don’t find it offensive.”

Bush’s final comment can be debated. Leaders of several tribes have spoken out against the nickname. There is an oft-cited poll by Annenberg Public Policy Center from 2004 that said 90 percent of Native Americans were not bothered by the nickname. Others have argued against the accuracy of that poll. It’s clearly a controversial topic, and unfortunately has become an opportunity for politicians on both sides of the spectrum to grandstand.

Bush was governor of Florida when the NCAA allowed Florida State to keep its Seminoles nickname.

“We had a similar kind of flap with FSU, if you recall, the Seminoles. And the Seminole tribe itself kind of came to the defense of the university and it subsided,” Bush said on Sirius XM. “It’s a sport, for crying out loud. It’s a football team. Washington has a huge fan base — I’m missing something here, I guess.”

The team has shown time and again that it has zero desire to change the name. That has extended the endless debate over the nickname, and it seems like this could be the start of 2016 presidential candidates giving their two cents on the matter. Great.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab