The logo for the Change the Mascot campaign

The Washington NFL team gave the VIP treatment to a self-proclaimed Native man who couldn't spell the name of the tribe he claimed to represent, the Associated Press reported.

The unidentified "D.C.-area" man showed up at the team's training camp in Virginia a couple of weeks ago, the AP said. The team made him available to the media but it appears no one wrote about him because of his questionable background.

The team previously claimed one of its supporters was a "full-blooded American Inuit chief" from Alaska. But the man's Native background appears to be exaggerated or falsified, according to Deadspin.com.

The team frequently cites a 2004 survey in which self-proclaimed Native Americans said they weren't offended by the name. The views of 768 people were part of the Annenberg Election Survey and the organization did not verify whether they were Native American.

A more recent survey by the Center for Indigenous Peoples Studies at California State University, San Bernardino found that 67 percent of Native Americans believe the team's name to be offensive and racist.

Get the Story:
Debate over Redskins name more intense that ever (AP 8/10)

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