PETA urges NFL to call audible on term 'horse-collar tackle'

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People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is urging the NFL to call an audible.

On Wednesday, PETA said in a news release the NFL should change the name of the "horse-collar tackle" penalty which the animal-rights organization said "makes light of using tight harnesses to exploit horses for labor."

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Ahman Green (30) of the Green Bay Packers breaks away from Roy Williams (31) of the Dallas Cowboys during a game at Lambeau Field Oct. 24, 2004, in Green Bay, Wis.  (Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

PETA said the league should change the name of the penalty to the "Goodell Grab," "back-collar tackle" or the "Roy Williams tackle." Williams was a fearsome Dallas Cowboys defensive back whose play prompted NFL owners to ban the horse-collar tackle. The banishment was originally called the "Roy Williams Rule."

"Words matter, and the term ‘horse-collar tackle’ trivializes an old-style contraption that exploits horses for labor," PETA President Ingrid Newkirk said in a news release. "You could score a touchdown for horses by instead converting it to the ‘Goodell Grab’ or ‘back-collar tackle,’ as neither of these terms normalizes animal abuse."

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Washington Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall (23) commits a personal foul penalty for a horse-collar tackle on New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham (13) at FedEx Field Nov. 29, 2015, in Landover, Md. (Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

PETA said its letter was addressed to NFL Competition Committee Chair Rich McKay, who is also the president and CEO of the