The workforce mentioned it's “retiring” the identify and emblem and that Snyder and coach Ron Rivera are working carefully to develop a brand new
The workforce mentioned it’s “retiring” the identify and emblem and that Snyder and coach Ron Rivera are working carefully to develop a brand new identify and design.
Native American advocates and specialists have lengthy criticized the identify they name a “dictionary-defined racial slur.” Over a dozen Native leaders and organizations wrote to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell final week demanding an instantaneous finish to Washington’s use of the identify. Goodell, who has fielded questions on the subject for years, mentioned he supported the evaluate.
Protests towards the identify predate Snyder shopping for the workforce in 1999, and, till now, he had proven no willingness to contemplate a change. Sturdy phrases from sponsors — together with an organization run by a minority stakeholder of the workforce — modified the equation.
FedEx earlier this month turned the primary sponsor to announce it had requested the group to vary the identify, significantly essential as a result of CEO Frederick Smith owns a part of the workforce. FedEx additionally paid $205 million for the long-term naming rights to the workforce’s stadium in Landover, Maryland.
The lease at FedEx Discipline expires in 2027, and dropping the identify retains open varied potentialities in Maryland, Virginia and Washington for the workforce’s new stadium and headquarters. District of Columbia mayor Muriel Bowser has mentioned the identify was an “impediment” to Snyder constructing on the previous RFK Stadium web site, which is believed to be his choice.
Washington just lately began chopping ties with racist founder George Preston Marshall, eradicating his identify from the Ring of Fame and renaming the decrease bowl at FedEx Discipline for the workforce’s first Black participant, late Corridor of Famer Bobby Mitchell. Marshall, who renamed the Boston Braves the Redskins in 1933 and moved it to D.C. 4 years later, was a segregationist and the final NFL proprietor to combine their workforce. The present emblem exhibits the profile of a red-faced Native American with feathers in his hair.
Lengthy faraway from the glory days of successful Tremendous Bowl titles within the 1982, 1987 and 1991 seasons underneath coach Joe Gibbs, Washington has simply 5 playoff appearances in 21 years and no postseason victories since 2005. The workforce has lacked a nationally marketable participant since Robert Griffin III’s short-lived stardom, and the 2020 schedule options zero prime-time video games for a franchise that was once a draw.
Re-branding with a brand new identify and emblem — and maybe the identical burgundy and gold colours — coupled with turning soccer operations over to Rivera might be a boon for Snyder on and off the sector. Even when a phase of the fan base opposes the change within the identify of custom, successful would greater than make up for these losses.