(CNN) -- Two lawmakers have joined the debate over the name of the Washington Redskins football team, writing a letter to the National Football League calling for a name change and threatening to hold hearings on the subject. The name Redskins is "an insult to Native Americans," according to the two lawmakers, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington state and chairwoman of the Indian Affairs Committee, and Rep. Tom Cole, R-Oklahoma, who is a member of the Chickasaw Nation. "This term does not honor -- but rather disparages -- Indian people and tribes," they wrote in their letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. "The National Football League can no longer ignore this and perpetuate the use of this name."
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Two lawmakers urge the NFL to change the Washington Redskins name
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Redskins is "an insult to Native Americans," Sen. Maria Cantwell and Rep. Tom Cole write
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Redskins official's response: "Don't they have more important issues to worry about?"
NFL officials "have heard from the leading representatives of @placeholder in our country," she said.