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Washington Redskins are said to change names

IIn the wake of the racism debate in the United States, main sponsor Fedex has reportedly asked the NFL team Washington Redskins to rename itself. “We communicated our request to the team in Washington to change the name of the team,” quoted American media on Thursday evening (local time) from a message from the package service provider. The name of the football team (in German for example: red skins) has long been considered controversial. Native American representatives have been pushing for a name change for decades.

The club then announced on Friday that the name would be subjected to a thorough review in the light of recent events in the country and feedback from the surrounding area. This would formalize initial discussions between the team and the league in recent weeks. Team owner Dan Snyder pointed out that external contributions, including from sponsors, could also be taken into account.

Previously, according to a report by Adweek magazine, 87 investment firms and partners in a letter had asked main sponsors Fedex, Nike and Pepsi to end their collaboration with the NFL team if they refused. “” Redskins “remains a dehumanizing word that characterizes people by their skin color and a racist insult with hateful connotations,” quoted “Adweek” from the letter.

Fedex had secured the naming rights at the stadium in the state of Maryland near Washington, which has since been called Fedex Field, in 1998 for around 182.5 million euros. CEO Frederick Smith is a minority owner of the team. The death of African-American George Floyd in a police operation in late May and the subsequent protests have given a real boost to the debate on racism in the United States.

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