In more than six years in office, President Obama has displayed a willingness to tackle tough issues and to anger friendly constituencies in the name of achieving a greater good.

By reportedly blocking construction of a new stadium in Washington for the NFL team, the Obama administration is getting a two-for, wading into a contentious dispute, while ticking off people who have been loyal.

It may seem on the surface that wading into the argument over the name of a football team, even one as offensive as the one carried by Washington’s team, seems beneath the stature of a president.

But when Interior Secretary Sally Jewell reportedly told Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser that the National Park Service would not permit a new stadium to be built on land where RFK Stadium stands unless the football team’s name changed, the administration was taking an important stand.

For over 40 years, the Washington football team played its games in the District. Their fans suffered through losing season after losing season until the 1970’s, when fortunes changed and the team started winning.

Through it all, the fans flocked into a tiny ballpark, which was eventually named for former Senator Robert F. Kennedy. The stadium would literally rock when the team scored and the fans sang the fight song.

Then, the team moved to a 90,000 seat stadium in Prince George’s County, trading the intimacy of RFK as well as its central location in the city for more seats and more money.

The city of Washington has tried to bring its football team back into the District since it moved, and the team’s owner, Dan Snyder, appears amenable to relocating the team.

However, Snyder, a lifetime fan, has been adamant that he will not change the team’s name under any circumstances.

This could mean that a new stadium will be built in Northern Virginia, where that state’s governor, Terry McAuliffe, seems more interested in the possible dollars his state could make than doing what’s right.

You’ve no doubt noticed that the team’s name has not appeared once during this piece. Admittedly, I haven’t always been this enlightened. I was a fan of the team in the 80s after the Colts left Baltimore and said it joyfully all the time.

And I could always hold on to the canard that I needed to say and write it professionally because in theory a journalist should observe the discussion, not take a side in it.

But, over time, I have come to believe that in a world dotted by nicknames like Braves, Indians, Seminoles, Fighting Sioux and Fighting Irish, the name of the Washington football team is far more offensive than any of them.

It’s offensive enough that a number of prominent sports reporters, including Peter King of Sports Illustrated, considered by many the preeminent football writer in this country, have declined to write or say it anymore.

That’s good enough for me, and for the president. It ought to be good enough for Daniel Snyder and the team’s fan base as well. And if they want a new stadium in Washington, it has to be.

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