Turnaround
For a long, long time, the Redskins insisted that their name wasn’t derogatory. It didn’t disparage anyone or any group, they argued. Never mind that its use in common language dating back to the 1800s was typically as a pejorative. Forget that Native Americans continually opposed it; from the seventies onward, it became targets of organized action on official and legal fronts. And still the National Football League franchise resisted any change; in fact, they contended that they were honoring indigenous peoples by trumpeting it proudly. Meanwhile, they filed for, and secured, multiple trademarks on its application, as clear a sign as any that they were digging in on the matter. As Dan Snyder, owner since 1999, told USA Today eight years ago, “We’ll never change the name. It’s that simple. NEVER; you can use caps.”
Considering the adamant stand of Redskins’ officials through time, their decision over the weekend “to undergo a thorough review of the team’s name” came as a complete turnaround. It was also inevitable, the result of pressure borne of escalating social unrest and, most importantly, from within. George Floyd’s death in May launched a powerful, and still-growing, movement that stands for the protection of basic and constitutionally guaranteed rights, and it compelled influential shareholders and business partners to put the team on notice. Start the 2020 season with a new name, they insisted, or else.
The “or else” figures to manifest in many forms, but, for the Redskins, none proved more intimidating than that which is tied to the almighty greenback. Once FedEx formally requested that they change their name, they had no other choice but to accede to the move. Parenthetically, the company, which owns naming rights to the franchise’s stadium until 2025 under a $205-million agreement, is chaired and led by minority stakeholder Frederick Smith. Nike, PepsiCo, and Bank of America likewise tightened screws with public pronouncements supporting the call for a new name.
And so the Redskins are slated to do something it should have long done, in honor of a cause it should have long recognized. It bears noting that the NFL is no less complicit, all the while defending the use of the name and only recently changing its tune; as in its handling of former player Colin Kaepernick’s activism, it was late to the party. That said, late is better than never, and ensuring that they do right from here on is more critical than insisting they were wrong until now. Needless to say, the name change is but the first step. What happens next matters much, much more.