Dozens of investment firms and shareholders have written three separate letters asking Nike, FedEx and PepsiCo to end their business dealings with the Washington Redskins, judging the team’s name offensive to the Premieres Nations. FedEx appears to have understood the message.
Although it did not sever ties with the organization, FedEx still took action on Thursday. “We contacted the team in Washington to ask them to change their name,” said a statement reported by ABC News.
According to the specialized site AdWeek, six groups representing 87 applicants in total are behind these messages: First Peoples Worldwide, Oneida Nation Trust Enrollment Committee, Trillium Asset Management, LLC Boston Common Asset Management, LLC Boston Trust Walden Mercy Investment Services and First Affirmative Financial Network.
They believe that agreements regarding the formation of the NFL should be canceled as long as it does not change its identity.
Nike is the Redskins’ equipment supplier, while FedEx holds the rights to the name of their stadium in Landover, Maryland. PepsiCo sells its carbonated drinks inside the building.
“The social justice movement currently underway is broader and indigenous peoples are part of it,” said First Peoples Worldwide director Carla Fredericks. They were somehow forgotten in many ways by the civil rights movement of the 1960s, because our conditions were so terrible and for this reason, our ability to bring debate to the public sphere was limited. With social media, everything is obviously different now. ”
The football club has been at the center of controversy over this matter for a long time. Washington has been using this name since 1933. The team also allegedly removed the name of founder George Preston Marshall from his Hall of Fame ring last week. Marshall refused to hire black players during his reign of over 35 years.
