Washington and the N.F.L. Might Change the Redskins Name. Why Now?
By the time they take the field this fall thats assuming there is a season given the National Football League team in Washington, D.C., might have a new nickname. In light of recent events around our country and feedback from our community, the are announcing the team will undergo a thorough review of the teams name, the team said in a statement Friday morning. The brief statement, which itself included the word redskins seven times, also said the team had been discussing its name with the N.F.L. for weeks. That a day could come when the team would change its name, which many consider to be a racist slur against Native Americans, . Well never change the name, Dan Snyder, the teams owner, . Its that simple. Never you can use caps. The change to that ironclad stance came just one day after two prominent corporate sponsors, FedEx and Nike, began backing away from the teams name, which quickly prompted others to follow suit on Friday. Snyder has been steadfast in his insistence to keep the name, even in the face of governmental and activist pressure to change it. The one entity with enough influence to force the issue, the N.F.L., has always backed Snyder. Two years ago, that the teams name should remain and that the league would not make him change it. But in the last month, the ground underneath their feet has shifted. American society is undergoing a wide uprising over police brutality and systemic racism that flared after the killing of George Floyd in police custody, a widespread movement that has led to a reconsideration of statues, flags, symbols and mascots considered to be racist or celebrating racist history. Statues of soldiers who fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War are being taken down across the country. The governor of Mississippi to remove the Confederate battle emblem from its flag, in part because of . Corporate mascots like Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben . Long accustomed to doing whatever it pleased on account of its massive popularity, the N.F.L. has scrambled to keep up with rapidly evolving public opinion. Last month, for not listening to concerns from the leagues Black players earlier, and he encouraged them to peacefully protest an about face from years of trying to prevent players from kneeling during the playing of the national anthem before games to protest racism. On Friday, Goodell indicated the league has been discussing a change with Washington. In the last few weeks we have had ongoing discussions with Dan and we are supportive of this important step, he said in a statement. According to a league spokesman, changing the name does not require a vote by the leagues owners, and ultimately the decision is up to Snyder. In the past, he had the support of Goodell, not to mention team and league sponsors that collectively pay billions annually, in rejecting calls for change. This time, however, Snyder might find his position more lonely. Already, the team has shifted itself in how it celebrates a racist past. Last month, Washington said it would remove the name of George Preston Marshall from the teams Ring of Fame and its history wall, and a statue of him was removed from outside RFK Stadium, where the team used to play in Washington. Marshall founded the team and moved them to Washington in the 1930s, and was the last N.F.L. owner to integrate his team. When the team changed its name in 1933 from the Braves, and the coach to wear feathers on the sideline. He also had an Indian-head logo printed across player uniforms and used a halftime band that wore tribal regalia. Still, there was little indication that the teams consideration of its name could follow closely behind its distancing from Marshall. As recently as Monday, Ron Rivera, the teams new coach, that talking about the teams name was a discussion for another time and that he was just somebody thats from a different era when football wasnt such a big part of the political scene. On Friday, he was quoted in Washingtons statement saying this issue is of personal importance to me. What has changed in the past four days? Perhaps the cost of keeping the name, as sponsors began to speak up. In a short but pointed statement Thursday that did not use the teams name, the shipping company FedEx said it had asked for the name to be changed. We have communicated to the team in Washington our request that they change the team name, FedEx said in a statement. FedEx isnt just any old sponsor of the team. For the last two decades Washington has played its home games at FedEx Field, in a Maryland suburb outside of the District of Columbia. FedEx in the naming rights deal in 1999. Frederick W. Smith, the chairman and chief executive of FedEx, is also a minority owner of the team. The teams lease for FedEx Field runs through 2027, but in recent years it has begun the process of searching for a new stadium, canvassing sites in Maryland, Virginia and Washington. The Washington Post has that a stadium in Washington is Snyders preference, but this week local elected officials to the district is off the table unless the teams name changed. The teams merchandise also disappeared from Nikes online store Thursday. Reached Friday, a Nike spokesman declined to say why. Other team sponsors have been publicly silent about the name for years, but after the announcement Friday they were quick to laud the teams apparent change of heart. Pepsi said they had been speaking with the team and the N.F.L. for a few weeks about this issue, while Bank of America said they have encouraged the team to change the name. There was no timeline given for when Washington would make a decision on its name, only that it would come after input from our alumni, the organization, sponsors, the National Football League and the local community. Native Americans, and Native American who has spent decades pushing teams and schools to change American Indian names and mascots, were not mentioned as those whose perspectives would be considered. is a sports business reporter, covering the leagues, owners, unions, stadiums and media companies behind the games. Prior to joining The Times, he was an editor at Deadspin.