NFL’s Washington Franchise Will Formally Retire Racist Team Name on Monday; New Name Still Pending

The NFL’s Washington D.C.-based franchise is going to make a major announcement on Monday morning, according to a report first broken by the Sports Business Journal, and later picked up by The Washington Post. The Post confirmed the initial report with three different team sources overnight on Sunday after the initial rumor broke Sunday evening.

#BREAKING: Sources tell @BenFischerSBJ that the @Redskins intend to change their team name "as soon as possible," despite the team publicly saying only that a review has begun. Details on the sudden change, what to expect and more.

🔗: https://t.co/43NAw9udeW pic.twitter.com/9ziSFugUTK

— Sports Business Journal (@sbjsbd) July 13, 2020

News: The @Redskins intend to announce Monday that they will be retiring the nickname, per sources. New name still TBA. https://t.co/SHkLlBQpAx

— Ben Fischer (@BenFischerSBJ) July 13, 2020

The move was expected both by the public and league insiders after owner Daniel Snyder recently authorized an internal review of the team’s name, following a more than 30-year campaign to raise awareness of its offensive nature. The team’s new head coach Ron Rivera spoke with the Post recently, saying that the team was well into the process of choosing a new name, and that he hoped to have it in place before the start of the season. That schedule has clearly been accelerated, with other team insiders telling the paper that they expect a new name to be announced “within two weeks.”

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We recently examined some of the leading candidates for the Washington NFL team’s new name. The odds-on favorites are the Washington Warriors and the Washington Red Tails, which both hit the team’s stipulated goals of honoring the military while not offending the Native American population.

https://www.awesemo.com/sideaction/examining-eight-leading-contenders-washington-nfl-team-new-name/

Although since that piece was written, the Washington Red Wolves has emerged as a popular online candidate. The name apparently has a connection to a Navy Seal support unit and honors the endangered red wolf, which was once native to the region.

“Redwolves” gaining serious traction in Washington. DL Jonathan Allen hyped the name on Twitch, Compton did below and the fan petition supporting it just passed 3,500 signatures. Redwolves are an endangered species native to SE US, as well as a past support squad for Navy SEALs. https://t.co/f6Pj0A0FBv

— Sam Fortier (@Sam4TR) July 10, 2020

The name recently got support from Defensive Captain Jonathan Allen while talking to fans on his Twitch stream. Allen’s comments were captured and posted online by an Instagram account dedicated to the Washington NFL team.

Allen had a different opinion about the front-running Red Tails name, however.

Redskins captain Jonathan Allen gives his thought on the “Redtails” 😂😂😂
*NSFW* #HTTR pic.twitter.com/Uwb8j4PW2i

— Bleeding Burgundy & Gold (@BleedinBnG) July 3, 2020

He might want to discuss that one with his quarterback before dismissing the badass nature of a name based on the Tuskegee Airmen.

I like the redtails 🤔 https://t.co/DLSWsUcldp

— Dwayne Haskins, Jr (@dh_simba7) July 3, 2020

Team insiders tell the Post that the name the team likes best is currently held up in trademark battles, which is delaying their ability to officially decide and announce, although it does sound like there is a strong internal preference.

Any of these names is a dramatic improvement over the moniker the Washington NFL franchise has held since 1933, and a good step toward supporting equality. Now the team should go a step further and provide replacement merchandise to fans at no charge. There’s no reason they should profit from 87 years of racist franchise history.

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