The Washington Redskins will reportedly no longer include Native American imagery and may undergo a team name change after officials recently announced they would begin a “thorough review” of what some say is a team name that doubles as a “dictionary-defined racial slur.”
The discussions, which began Friday, have resulted in the possible changes to the NFL team’s name and a definitive change in the logo, a league source told ESPN NFL Insider writer Adam Schefter.
Since the death of George Floyd, several corporations and national entities including the NFL have announced widespread changes and substantial support for racial equality.
Dan Snyder, owner of the team since 1999, did not bend when advocates demanded the Washington Redskins name be changed in the past. However, with the recent national conversation on race, Snyder and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell have been examining changes needed to honor those of Native American descent. MLB is also considering a name change for the Cleveland Indians.
Snyder last week said he saw the review as an opportunity to formally examine feedback from the community and take into consideration the social unrest that has taken place across the country since Floyd, a Black man, died after a Minneapolis officer kneed his neck for several minutes.
“This process allows the team to take into account not only the proud tradition and history of the franchise but also input from our alumni, the organization, sponsors, the National Football League and the local community it is proud to represent on and off the field,” Snyder said.
Native American advocacy groups have tried for decades to force a change, and a peer-reviewed UC Berkeley study released earlier this year revealed 67% of those surveyed who strongly identify as Native Americans agreed or strongly agreed the name was offensive. Floyd’s death and other examples of police brutality against Black people in the U.S. sparked protests worldwide and changes to various brands considered racially insensitive.
One opponent of the changes has been President Donald Trump. In his high-profile Fourth of July weekend speech, the president expressed his disdain for certain changes including the calls to remove Confederate monuments.
“Those who seek to erase our heritage want Americans to forget our pride and our great dignity, so that we can no longer understand ourselves or America’s destiny,” Trump said Friday at the base of Mount Rushmore.
Trump on Monday criticized the Indians and the Redskins for considering the name changes in the wake of a national reckoning over racial injustice and inequality.
Trump tweeted, “They name teams out of STRENGTH, not weakness, but now the Washington Redskins & Cleveland Indians, two fabled sports franchises, look like they are going to be changing their names in order to be politically correct.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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