Carey

“I think sometimes evolution is slow for some people,” he said. “But where else in America do you see that, though, the refusal to change? From Stanford on down, most everybody has changed from a derogatory name to one that is acceptable.”

via Mike Carey asked off Washington Redskins games due to nickname – ESPN.

“Human beings take social stances,” Carey, the first African-American referee to work a Super Bowl, told the newspaper. “And if you’re respectful of all human beings, you have to decide what you’re going to do and why you’re going to do it.

“I know that if a team had a derogatory name for African-Americans, I would help those who helped extinguish that name. I have quite a few friends who are Native Americans. And even if I didn’t have Native American friends, the name of the team is disrespectful.”

According to the Post’s research, Carey didn’t work any Redskins games — preseason, regular season or playoffs — after Week 1 of the 2006 season.

“The league respectfully honored my request not to officiate Washington,” he said.

“When they were making assignments, I said I’d like to be excluded from those assignments,” Carey told the Post.