The Washington Football team from the NFL professional league wants to get rid of further problematic legacy issues. As the franchise announced, fans will no longer be allowed to come into the arena with headdresses or painted faces in the style of the indigenous people.
The team had given up the name “Redskins” (redskins) under great pressure from the public last year. In 2022, the franchise will then be given a new name, which is still unknown, but will have nothing to do with native people.
“We have implemented significant changes in our organization and culture, and our new team name should document this change,” Washington President Jason Wright said in July. Critics, on the other hand, argue that, despite years of debate about the name, the club only reacted when sponsors threatened to bail out.
At the end of July 2021, another US sports team changed its problematic name. Cleveland’s major league baseball team, known as the Indians since 1915, will be called Guardians. Criticism of the names – including that of the Kansas City Chiefs from the NFL or the Chicago Blackhawks from the NHL – has been around for years. You are criticized as racist by many Native Americans and other Americans.
Over 1000 names to choose from in Cleveland
Cleveland had already parted ways with its mascot, an Indian cartoon, in 2019. When the footballers from the capital announced the decision to part with the nickname Redskins in July 2020, the Indians for their part announced an in-depth dispute with their own name.
With the name change, which comes into force after the current season, more than 40,000 fans have now been asked, it said. More than 1000 names were considered. The club was founded in 1894 as Grand Rapids Rustlers, after which it changed the name several times before it stayed with Indians from 1914.
