Washington's NFL Team Is Finally Changing Its Racist ‘Redskins’ Name
Washington’s NFL franchise will no longer be called the Redskins, the derogatory and racist moniker that it finally agreed to change after nearly 50 years of pressure from Native American activists.
On Monday, the team announced the change in a statement posted to its Twitter account, following a review of the name launched by the team and the league on July 3.
The statement said the team has not yet decided on a new name. Daniel Snyder, the team’s owner, and Coach Ron Rivera are working to develop a new name, according to the release.
— Washington Redskins (@Redskins) July 13, 2020
The team, which still used the name several times in its statement, did not say when the “thorough review” would end or when the name change would take place. It is still unclear whether it will use the name during the 2020 NFL season, which begins in September.
FedEx, which holds naming rights to the franchise’s stadium in Maryland, said in early July that it asked the team to change its name. A day later, Nike, which has an exclusive apparel and uniform contract with the NFL, removed all Washington merchandise from its website.
The change is a massive victory for tribal activists and organizations that oppose the use of Native American mascots at all levels of sports because they contribute to harmful stereotypes of the peoples they depict. And it’s a major ― if long overdue ― shift for the NFL and for Snyder, who in 2013 promised in USA Today that he would “NEVER” change the team’s name.
The Change the Mascot campaign, which launched in 2013 in opposition to the name, commended the team in a statement that said it had “finally made the right call.”
“This is a good decision for the country — not just Native peoples — since it closes a painful chapter of denigration and disrespect toward Native Americans and other people of color,” Ray Halbritter, a representative of the Oneida Indian Nation of New York and...
