( CNN ) -- In week five of the upcoming NFL season , the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks will play a nameless opponent . At least that 's what it will look like in the sports pages of the hometown Seattle Times newspaper because that 's when the Seahawks travel to Washington to play a team whose name has become a political football . `` It 's time to ban the use of `` Redskins , '' '' wrote sports editor Don Shelton , who called the nickname `` absurd , offensive and outdated . '' `` The most controversial name in sports wo n't appear again in The Seattle Times ' print edition or on the seattletimes.com home pages as long as I am sports editor , '' Don Shelton announced in a Thursday column . Seattle 's only major daily print newspaper joins a growing list of others -- such as the Kansas City Star and San Francisco Chronicle -- that have chosen to do the same . Others outlets such as Slate , New Republic and Mother Jones have banned the word too , though those publications are n't exactly known for the breadth of their football coverage . A couple of hours to the south in Portland , the Pacific Northwest 's other major daily -- the Oregonian -- banned the word outright in the early '90s . Back then , the Seattle Times was limiting its use to one mention per article and leaving it out of headlines and photo captions , according to Shelton . `` The decision felt progressive at the time , '' he said . `` ( B ) ut now we need to go further . '' The usage of Native American imagery in sports has been a long-simmering controversy . The Redskins have increasingly become the primary focus of a campaign of sensitivity that has thus far failed to sway professional sports teams . In fact , some of the very same papers that have banned `` the R-word '' have done no such thing when it comes to the Native American-inspired Atlanta Braves , Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Indians . Is banning `` Redskins '' then a double standard ? No , says Shelton . `` Some argue that if you ban Redskins , you have to ban all other Native American mascots . I do n't agree , '' he wrote . `` ( Other Native American nicknames ) do n't generate the same visceral reaction . '' The collegiate level has been less reluctant to heed mounting calls for change . In 2005 , the NCAA sought to end the controversy surrounding Native American mascots once and for all by ordering nearly 20 schools whose nicknames and mascots they deemed `` abusive in terms of race , ethnicity or national origin '' to either get Native American permission to use their name and likeness , or to come up with new monikers . Opinion : Is end near for Redskins ? It 's about time . Patent office cancels Redskins trademarks . Reclaiming the Native American voice .
Seattle Times becomes latest paper to stop using the name `` Redskins '' Sports editor : `` The most controversial name in sports wo n't appear again '' in print or online editions . Kansas City Star , San Francisco Chronicle , The Oregonian do n't use the word either .