The Washington Redskins plan to announce on Monday that they will withdraw their controversial team nickname, several branches reported on Sunday evening.
A source told the Sports Business Journal that the team “considered it important to remove all doubts about the future of the name.” The report found that a new nickname would not be announced immediately due to branding issues.
The story of Sunday night underpinned Saturday’s coverage by Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk and Charles Robinson of Yahoo, each of whom spoke of an “upcoming” name change. Robinson said on Saturday that the change would come “in the next 24-48 hours”, adding that the NFL is taking steps to tell everyone who has Washington’s nickname on their platform to start him to scrub, to lose weight, which means something is coming. “
Team owner Daniel Snyder was under increasing pressure to change the team’s nickname, logo, and mascot. Many Indian groups called the name racist. Pressure rose this month, and companies like Nike, PepsiCo, Bank of America, and FedEx threatened to cut off the team’s promotional ties.
CLOCK | Professional sports teams rethink indigenous nicknames:
FedEx asked the team to change the name
On July 2, FedEx asked the team to change the name. In 1999, FedEx signed a 27-year US $ 205 million contract for the naming rights to FedEx Field in Landover, Md., Where the club plays its home games. A day later, the team announced that it was “thoroughly reviewing” the team name.
The Sports Business Journal reported on Sunday that the club has completed this review.
Nike has removed all Redskins merchandise from its website, making Washington the only NFL franchise not listed on the website’s NFL index.
Last Wednesday, Amazon removed Redskins merchandise from its website. Two days earlier, the Washington Post reported that three team minority owners commissioned an investment bank to find buyers for their club shares.
Snyder said in 2013 that he would “never” change the name.
The franchise company was nicknamed Redskins in 1933 when it was based in Boston and was previously called Braves. Team owner George Preston Marshall moved the club to Washington in 1937.
A statue of Marshall was removed on June 19 from the Redskins’ former Washington DC venue, RFK Stadium, after protests against racial equality after George Floyd’s death. Under Marshall’s leadership, the Redskins were the last NFL team to integrate, adding their first black players in 1962.
Washington will open the season at home against the Philadelphia Eagles on September 13.
