Washington D.C. Football Team Announces Name Change: Washington Commanders
variety.comJ. Kim Murphy The Washington Football Team has announced it will adopt a new moniker, Washington Commanders, after a two-season interim that saw the National Football League organization renounce its long-standing name of Washington Redskins as a response to sweeping criticism that the name was denigrating to the Native American population.The organization unveiled its new name on Wednesday morning’s broadcast of NBC’s “Today.” The change is set to become official in the 2022-2023 NFL season.Owners of the Washington D.C.-based franchise announced they would undergo a renaming process in July 2020 as a response to a continuous wave of criticism that had extended to advertisers.
FedEx and PepsiCo were among the team partners who pushed for action, while Nike had gone as far as removing the team’s merchandise from its online store.
Prior to the decision, the organization had spent years downplaying controversy around the “Redskins” moniker. On multiple occasions, franchise owner Dan Snyder had voiced his position against renaming the team.The Commanders are only the latest sports team to be officially renamed following criticisms of racism.
Last July, the Cleveland Indians franchise announced it would adopt the name of Cleveland Guardians. The new name will be officially adopted in the upcoming 2022 Major League Baseball season.
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