Harry Reid: NFL cares more about Deflategate than ‘racist’ team name

Add Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to the list of folks who’ve decided to chime in on the NFL’s handling of the Deflategate scandal.

A day after the NFL suspended New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady for four games and took away draft picks and fined the team, Reid suggested on Twitter that the league needs to get its priorities straight.

The Senate minority leader wrote: “I find it stunning that the NFL cares more about how much air is in a football than it cares about a racist franchise name.”

Reid is referring to the Washington Redskins, who have dismissed numerous calls from Native American groups and others calling for the team to change its name. The NFL has also fought to keep the Redskins name from disappearing into the history books.

Reid has been part of an effort in recent years to persuade Redskins owner Daniel Snyder to change the franchise’s name.

Still, Deflategate has managed to do more than just throw an ugly word into the sports lexicon. It seems to have ignited comparisons between how the league has handled Deflategate relative to its other recent scandals involving domestic violence arrests and concussion-related injuries as well as the controversy over the Redskins’ name.

Whether Reid will use the Deflategate debacle to renew the political offensive to try to get the Redskins to change their name remains to be seen.