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WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama says he would "think about changing" the Washington Redskins name if he owned the football team as he waded into the controversy involving a word many consider offensive to Native Americans. Obama, in an interview with The Associated Press, said team names such as the Redskins offend "a sizable group of people." He said that while fans get attached to the names, nostalgia may not be a good enough reason to keep them in place. "I dont know whether our attachment to a particular name should override the real legitimate concerns that people have about these things," he said in the interview, which was conducted Friday at the White House. An avid sports fan who roots for his hometown Chicago Bears, Obama said he doesnt think Washington football fans are purposely trying to offend Native Americans. "I dont want to detract from the wonderful Redskins fans that are here. They love their team and rightly so," he said. But he appeared to come down on the side of those who have sharply criticized the football teams name, noting that Native Americans "feel pretty strongly" about mascots and team names that depict negative stereotypes about their heritage. The teams owner, Dan Snyder has vowed to never abandon the name. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said last month that the league should pay attention to those offended by the name -- a subtle change in position for Goodell, who had more strongly supported the name in his previous statements this year. Lanny J. Davis, an attorney for the Redskins, said the teams fans dont intend to "disparage or disrespect" anyone. "The name Washington Redskins is 80 years old. Its our history and legacy and tradition," Davis said in an emailed statement in which he also identified himself as an Obama supporter. "We Redskins fans sing Hail to the Redskins every Sunday as a word of honour, not disparagement." Other professional sports teams have Native American names, including footballs Kansas City Chiefs and baseballs Atlanta Braves and Cleveland Indians. Davis referred to fans of those teams and hockeys Chicago Blackhawks in his statement, saying Redskins fans "love our team and its name and, like those fans, we do not intend to disparage or disrespect a racial or ethnic group." Numerous colleges and universities have changed names that reference Native Americans. St. Johns changed its mascot from the Redmen to the Red Storm, Marquette is now the Golden Eagles instead of the Warriors and Stanford switched from the Indians to the Cardinal. The Redskins name has attracted a fresh round of controversy in recent months, with local leaders in Washington calling for a name change and some media outlets refraining from using the name. The name is the subject of a long-running legal challenge from a group of Native Americans seeking to block the team from having federal trademark protection. Congressional lawmakers have introduced a bill seeking the same goal, though it appears unlikely to pass. "What a prudent and wise use of the bully pulpit," Suzan Shown Harjo, a plaintiff in that case, said in an interview Saturday. "I am so glad that he said that and I hope that people hear a reasoned response from the president and will pay attention to this issue." Harjo said the issue "involves lots of hurt and pain and ongoing name-calling and bullying of our children that goes with this name. We just need to have an end to it." "Theres no such thing as a good stereotype, no matter how well-intentioned, no matter how good people feel about it," Harjo added. "It still has negative ramifications for our people." "These are relics of the past. They should be consigned to museums and history books and people can feel good about them there," she said. "But they should not be allowed in polite society." Opponents of the Redskins name plan to hold a symposium Monday at the Washington hotel hosting the NFLs fall meeting. "We really appreciate the president underscoring what weve been saying," said Ray Halbritter, leader of the Oneida Indian Nation, a tribe from upstate New York thats been campaigning against the name. "Theres just no place for a professional football team to be using what the dictionary defines as a racially offensive term." Halbritter said the NFL and Snyder could "borrow a page from the president" and use a decision to change the teams name as a "teachable moment." Despite the controversy, an AP-GfK poll conducted in April showed that, nationally, "Redskins" still enjoys wide support. Nearly 4 in 5 Americans dont think the team should change its name, the survey found. Only 11 per cent think it should be changed, while 8 per cent werent sure and 2 per cent didnt answer. Obama said he doesnt have a direct stake in the Redskins debate since hes not a team owner. But he hinted that might be part of his post-White House plans. "Maybe after I leave the presidency," he joked. "I think it would be a lot of fun." "Id probably look at a basketball team before I looked at a football team," said Obama, who plays basketball in his spare time, has coached his daughters basketball team and is a fan of the NBAs Chicago Bulls. "I know more about basketball than I do about football." Cheap NFL Jerseys China . LOUIS -- The St. Authentic NBA Jerseys Cheap . However, the intensity and physicality that has characterized the postseason so far has caught Gretzky by surprise. "Its a little bit risqué right now," Gretzky told Philadelphia radio station 97. http://www.nbajerseyschinawholesale.com/ . -- A lawyer for the fiancee of former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez asked a judge Friday to throw out perjury charges, saying Shayanna Jenkins did not wilfully lie as she was bombarded with 1,630 questions over two days before a grand jury. Wholesale NFL Jerseys . He also had some help Monday night.Hibbert scored a season-high 29 points to help Indiana beat the Utah Jazz 97-86 Monday night, ending the Pacers six-game losing streak. Wholesale Basketball Jerseys .1 Sam Stosur will meet Germanys second-ranked player Andrea Petkovic in the opening match of the Fed Cup World Group semifinal.TORONTO - The Toronto Blue Jays reassigned bullpen coach Pat Hentgen on Saturday and replaced him with Bob Stanley, who spent the last two seasons as a pitching coach with the teams triple-A affiliate in Buffalo. The move will give Hentgen the "time needed to support his family and his fathers current health issues," the Blue Jays said in a release. Hentgen spent 10 of his 14 big-league seasons with the Blue Jays, winning a Cy Young Award in 1996. He retired after the 2004 season. Hentgen, 45, returned to the team in 2007 as a club ambassador and also spent the 2011 season as bullpen coach.dddddddddddd It wasnt immediately clear what his new duties will be. Stanley, 59, played 13 seasons with the Boston Red Sox and was named to the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2000. Toronto finished last in the American League East last season with a 74-88 record. Manager John Gibbons will return for the 2014 campaign. His staff includes Stanley, bench coach DeMarlo Hale, hitting coach Kevin Seitzer, pitching coach Pete Walker, third base coach Luis Rivera and first base coach Tim Leiper. The Blue Jays will open the regular season on March 31 at Tampa Bay. ' ' '