New team name will take a while
The NFL franchise formerly known as the Redskins will go by the Washington Football Team for at least the 2020 season, giving the organization time to choose a new, full-time name. Gone is the Indian head logo and the name Native American advocates have called a dictionary-defined racial slur. Here to stay are the burgundy and gold colors that are synonymous with the franchise’s storied history. “We wanted to think it through and really try to figure out what is the best approach for us, for the community, for the fans, for everybody, and came to the conclusion that what we wanted to do was to go slow with the renaming process and really be very thoughtful, very inclusive, respectful and all those things,” executive vice president and chief marketing officer Terry Bateman, hired Monday to oversee the name change and rebranding process, said in a phone interview Thursday. “That’s going to require some time to do it right.” With training camp opening next week, the process begins today of scrubbing the old name and logo from everything at the team’s headquarters in Ashburn, Virginia, to FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland. Bateman expects that process to be completed by the start of the season, when player jersey numbers will replace the logos on Washington’s helmets for the Sept. 13 opener against the Philadelphia Eagles.
BASEBALL
› WASHINGTON — The New York Yankees and the Washington Nationals knelt in unison before the first game of the 2020 MLB season as part of a ceremony Thursday night that featured references to the Black Lives Matter movement, the coronavirus pandemic — including an offthe-mark first pitch by Dr. Anthony Fauci — and the home team’s 2019 World Series championship. Players from both clubs wore Black Lives Matter T-shirts during batting practice, and the letters “BLM” were stenciled into the back of the mound at the center of the diamond. In a poignant reference to the racial reckoning happening in the United States, players and other members of both teams held a long black ribbon while standing spaced out along the two foul lines. After they placed the ribbon on the ground, everyone then got on their knees. They all then rose for a taped performance of the national anthem. The game, which went into a rain delay in the sixth inning with the Yankees batting while leading 4-1, was not complete at press time. Visit timesfreepress.com for coverage.
› TORONTO — The Baltimore Orioles and the state of Maryland have had talks about the team sharing Oriole Park at Camden Yards with the displaced Toronto Blue Jays during the coronavirus pandemic. The Blue Jays are looking for an MLB park after the Canadian government declined to allow them to play in Toronto and the state of Pennsylvania nixed a deal to play in Pittsburgh because of frequent travel throughout the United States. The governor of Connecticut is pitching, too, to have the Blue Jays play at his state’s Double-A minor league ballpark in Hartford. Toronto plays its season opener today at Tampa Bay. The Blue Jays are scheduled to play their first “home” game next Wednesday against the Nationals.
OLYMPICS
› TOKYO — The Tokyo Olympics hit the one-year-to-go mark — again — but few were in a mood to celebrate. Tokyo observed the original date a year ago. That was before the COVID-19 pandemic postponed the Olympics and pushed back the opening to July 23, 2021. Fireworks cascaded over Tokyo Bay back then, and local celebrities unveiled the medals in a highly choreographed show. There was none of that this time. Organizers had a 15-minute, no-fans event on Thursday inside the new national stadium, screening a video to promote next year’s opening. They also teased the presence of the Olympic flame, which arrived in Japan in March and had been hidden away ever since.