WASHINGTON — Senator Harry Reid of Nevada on Wednesday called on the N.F.L. to change the name of the Washington Redskins, urging the league to respond to charges that the name is offensive by following the example set by the N.B.A. in punishing the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers.

Seizing on the N.B.A.’s decision on Tuesday to bar the owner Donald Sterling for life, impose a $2.5 million fine and possibly force the sale of his team after he was recorded making racist remarks, Reid, a Democrat and the Senate majority leader, said N.F.L. Commissioner Roger Goodell should intervene because Daniel Snyder, the Redskins’ owner, refused to change the name.

“For far too long the N.F.L. has been sitting on its hands doing nothing while an entire population of Americans has been denigrated,” Reid said on the Senate floor.

He added later, “Remove this hateful term from your league’s vocabulary and rid the league of racism and bigotry.”