WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the Federal Communications Commission says the Washington Redskins nickname is “offensive and derogatory.”

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler told Broadcasting & Cable that he hopes Redskins owner Dan Snyder will change the name without any formal action from the regulatory body.

Said Wheeler: “I don’t use the term personally and I think it is offensive and derogatory. … I am a Civil War buff, and there were a lot of terms that were appropriate at that time that aren’t appropriate anymore.”

There have been calls for the FCC to challenge the license of Snyder’s radio stations because of the use of the word, but Wheeler said: “I hope that this is something that if enough people express themselves, Dan Snyder can see which way things are going.”

___

AP NFL websites: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.