Eskimos vow ‘open mind’ after sponsor calls for name change
The Edmonton Eskimos said Wednesday the team will keep an “open mind” to changing its name after a major sponsor threatened to pull support if the Canadian Football League team didn’t follow through.
Home and car insurance company Belairdirect, which has sponsored the team for several years, joined in the call for a change to the Eskimo moniker following backlash on social media after the team rebuffed renewed calls to drop a name critics say is racist.
“At Belairdirect one of our core values is respect, which is founded on seeing diversity as a strength, being inclusive and collaborative,” the company said in a statement Wednesday. “In order for us to move forward and continue on with our partnership with the Edmonton Eskimos, we will need to see concrete action in the near future including a name change. We have shared our position with the team.”
The Eskimos said the team would move quickly to review the name.
“We will be seeking further input from the Inuit, our partners and other stakeholders to inform our decisions moving forward. We’ll continue to listen carefully and with an open mind. We intend to complete our review as quickly as possible and will provide an update on these discussions by the end of this month,” the team said in a news release.
In February, the Eskimos decided to keep the team name after a yearlong process engaging with Inuit communities, which they referred to in a tweet on Friday.
“We announced the findings from that program several months ago which included the fact that there was no consensus among the Inuit people and considerable support for the Eskimos name among the Inuit in various parts of northern Canada,” the team wrote.
Meanwhile, many other professional sports teams are facing similar pressures to change their names with some going along such as the MLB’S Cleveland Indians and NFL’S Washington Redskins, while others have pushed back.
American media reported Tuesday neither the MLB’S Atlanta Braves nor the NHL’S Chicago Blackhawks intend to change their names.
We will be seeking further input from the Inuit, our partners and other stakeholders.