WASHINGTON RETIRES ‘REDSKINS’
Today, we are announcing we will be retiring the ‘Redskins’ name and logo upon completion of this review
WASHINGTON (AFP) — The Washington Redskins confirmed that the team is changing its name following pressure from sponsors over a word widely criticized as a racist slur against Native Americans.
Washington announced on 3 July that the “Redskins” name had been placed under review after a wave of rallies against racial injustice swept across the United States following George Floyd’s death on 25 May.
“Today, we are announcing we will be retiring the ‘Redskins’ name and logo upon completion of this review,” the National Football League (NFL) team said in a statement.
A replacement name was still being worked upon, the statement added.
Washington owner Dan Snyder had long resisted calls to change the team’s name but faced mounting demands to rethink that position as protests erupted against systemic racism after the death of Floyd, an unarmed African-American man, during his arrest by police in Minneapolis.
Native American leaders had written NFL commissioner Roger Goodell last week, demanding an immediate change of the team’s name, logo and mascot.
Ray Halbritter, an Oneida Nation representative and head of the “Change the Mascot” campaign, applauded Washington’s decision. “The NFL and Dan Snyder have finally made the right call and Change the Mascot commends them for it,” Halbritter said in a statement.
“This is a good decision for the country. It closes a painful chapter of denigration and disrespect toward Native Americans and other people of color.”
US lawmaker Deb Haaland, one of the few members of Congress who identifies as Native American, also saluted the move.