Bengals name change petition is almost 16,000 signatures strong

Recently, there have been quite a few movements for team name changes in professional sports. In the collegiate arena, the North Dakota State Fighting Sioux were renamed to become the Fighting Hawks. In the NFL, the Washington Redskins have been under fire for its polarizing moniker. These situations are certainly a quagmire, and it's really hard to say what is wrong and what is right.

But the latest call for a team to change their name is more than just a matter of political correctness. Fans of the Cincinnati Bengals have been petitioning this week to rename their NFL franchise in memoriam of a famous gorilla. The petition, entitled "Rename the Cincinnati Bengals to the Cincinnati Harambes…