Washington’s NFL Team to Drop ‘Redskins’ Name, Logo

Washington Redskins quarterback Dwayne Haskins warming up before the start of the first half of an NFL football game, in Landover, Md., on Dec. 15, 2019. (Patrick Semansky/AP Photo)

Washington’s National Football League franchise has announced the team will no longer be called the Redskins, although it didn’t announce a new name or replacement for its Indian head logo.

“As part of this process, we want to keep our sponsors, fans, and community apprised of our thinking as we go forward,” the team said in a July 13 statement. “Today, we are announcing that we will be retiring the Redskins name and logo upon completion of this review.”

Team owner Dan Snyder and coach Ron Rivera are “working closely” with team officials to develop a new name and design; it’s not known if the team will retain the same red and yellow color scheme.

But the new name will “enhance the standing of our proud, tradition-rich franchise and inspire our sponsors, fans, and community for the next 100 years,” according to the statement.

The move came about a week after Snyder announced that the team would review the Redskins name and logo following pressure from activists. Nike and Amazon have since removed Redskins merchandise from their online stores.

Previously, some Native American groups have argued that the name is racist.

FedEx, the company that owns the naming rights to the stadium where the team plays, requested that the team change its name.

“We have communicated to the team in Washington our request that they change the team name,” FedEx said in a statement on July 9.

Rivera previously said that he was working with Snyder on a name that would pay respect to Native Americans and the military.

“We came up with a couple of names—two of them I really like,” Rivera told The Washington Post earlier this month.

Native American activists have tried to force Snyder to change the name of the team, which was established in 1933. Groups have protested the name and attempted to fight for a name-change in court, all of which have failed.

Snyder in 2013 told USA Today that he would “never change the name” of the team. “As a lifelong Redskins fan, and I think that the Redskins fans understand the great tradition and what it’s all about and what it means, so we feel pretty fortunate to be just working on next season,” he said at the time.

“It’s that simple. NEVER—you can use caps,” Snyder said.

The recent countrywide focus on race relations, triggered by the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, has brought more scrutiny to the Redskins’ name.