It seems to me that the name of a football team should be pretty low on people’s list of priorities right now.
Look at it this way, if there is a team whose name you hate for whatever reason, by design you should be booing the hell out of them every time they step foot on the field.
My whole opinion on this is that if this was such an issue, why in the hell did this become an issue JUST NOW…
Well, that didn’t take long.
Just a day after being bullied by local government officials and hit with growing pressure from various corporate sponsors to change the team’s name, the Washington Redskins have taken the preliminary steps to do just that.
“In light of recent events around our country and feedback from our community, the Washington Redskins are announcing the team will undergo a thorough review of the team’s name,” the team said in a statement Friday. “This review formalizes the initial discussions the team has been having with the league in recent weeks.”
— Washington Redskins (@Redskins) July 3, 2020
The statement was released amid a push from various corporate sponsors, including Nike, FedEx and PepsiCo, for the NFL franchise to drop the “Redskins” nickname. FedEx, which has its name on the team’s stadium in Landover, Maryland, put in a formal request for a team name change Thursday, according to ESPN.
The name “Redskins” has been a source of controversy for years now. The moniker, which has been in use since 1933, has been a divisive subject among football fans and non-fans alike.
Some feel the name is a racial slur against Native Americans, while others think the name honors their fighting spirit.
Of course, there are also those who simply don’t care, given that it’s merely a football team’s name.
In the team’s statement, team owner Dan Snyder said, “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.”
It is a stark reversal for Snyder, who purchased the Redskins in 1999. The 55-year-old team owner has long been resistant to any changes to the team name.