They are doing so in reflection of this atmosphere, but also noting that one of their minority owners is Frederick W. Smith, founder and CEO of Federal Express, who owns the naming rights to their current stadium, FedEx Field. He said he would cancel his sponsorship of the team and the stadium if the name was not changed.
Smith is from Memphis, about to turn 76. When an old white man from the city where Dr. Martin Luther King was shot and killed by (it is widely, but not universally, believed) a white supremacist says something is bigoted and needs to be changed, that says something.
Nike and PepsiCo have also urged the name change, and Target and Walmart have removed Redskins merchandise from their stores. Those companies, and also Amazon, have removed Redskins merch from their websites.
Daniel Snyder, who bought the team from the family of the late owner Jack Kent Cooke in 1999, said he wouldn't change the name, that it was too tied into the history of both the NFL and the Washington, D.C. area, and that there were Native American groups supporting the name.
Some changes had already been made. The 'Skins are one of the few NFL teams with a well-known fight song, "Hail to the Redskins." There was a line in it, "Scalp 'em," which was replaced by "Beat 'em." Many fans had gone to games wearing "Indian headdresses" and war paint, but this has decreased in recent years.
(So has the wearing of plastic pig masks and rubber pig snouts, as we get further away from the 1980s, when the team's excellent offensive line was known as the Hogs. The man who coached that line, Joe Bugel, died a few days ago. He had also once been the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals.)
But such names have fallen by the wayside in recent years. In 1972, Stanford University dropped Indians as its name in favor of Cardinal -- the color, not the bird, so no S on the end. In 1974, Dartmouth College dropped "Indians" for a color as well: The Big Green. In 1996, Miami University of Ohio dropped Redskins for RedHawks.
And in 2018, after decades of disapproval, Major League Baseball's Cleveland Indians dropped Chief Wahoo, a mascot with bright red skin (unlike the Washington Redskins' logo, which had dark red skin that at least resembled something biologically possible). Terry Pluto, the great columnist for The Plain Dealer, Cleveland's largest newspaper, wrote last week that he expects the Indians to drop that name entirely after the 2021 season, as soon as it's contractually allowable. (UPDATE: Pluto turned out to be right. In 2021, the Indians announced that their new name for 2022 onward would be the Cleveland Guardians.)
Some Native-themed team names don't face the same pressure. Florida State University has a working agreement with the Seminole tribe, so their Seminoles name and Chief Osceola live mascot are staying put. But the University of Illinois, which calls its teams the Fighting Illini, have had to alter their Chief Illiniwek mascot to make him more authentic, and still face calls for the character's retirement.
The National Hockey League's Chicago Blackhawks released a statement saying that their name honors Black Hawk, a Native chief of the early 19th Century, who waged war against the U.S. Army, but was considered an honorable warrior. The Kansas City Chiefs are the reigning NFL Champions, and they aren't dropping their name, because a Chief suggests leadership. Nor are the Atlanta Braves changing theirs, because "Brave" suggests a noble warrior.
It's been suggested that no one would put up with the name "New York Jews," "Philadelphia Paisans," or "Chicago Negroes." This is certainly true.
And the NFL's Minnesota Vikings were named in honor of the Upper Midwest's large Scandinavian community. Should that name be changed? As the sign in this photo suggests, maybe not.
But the pressure on Snyder to change the Redskins name had grown intense. Accepting this, Snyder announced "a thorough review of the name." Yesterday, this announcement was made:
On July 3rd, we announced the commencement of a thorough review of the team’s name. That review has begun in earnest. As part of this process, we want to keep our sponsors, fans and community apprised of our thinking as we go forward.
Today, we are announcing we will be retiring the Redskins name and logo upon completion of this review.
Dan Snyder and Coach Rivera are working closely to develop a new name and design approach that will enhance the standing of our proud, tradition rich franchise and inspire our sponsors, fans and community for the next 100 years.
Almost immediately, this decision was praised by one of the biggest sports sponsors in the world, Anheuser-Busch Breweries; and ripped by the usual conservatives who get so easily offended while simultaneously talking about how liberals are so easily offended.The Redskins name will stay throughout the 2020 season -- assuming, given the Coronavirus situation, there is one. The new name will be in place for the 2021 season. They will, however, be keeping the team's familiar burgundy and gold color scheme.
(UPDATE: Instead, they immediately dropped "Redskins," and became simply "The Washington Football Team." They didn't decide on a new name going into the 2021 season, and remained "The Washington Football Team." Similarly, the Canadian Football League's Edmonton Eskimos dropped their name, briefly becoming "The Edmonton Football Team," before adopting "Edmonton Elks," allowing them to express a sense of strength and the great Canadian outdoors, and to keep their "EE" helmet logo.)
Already, the favorites for the new name seem to be Redwolves and Redtails -- not least because it would keep the R initial. Redwolves suggests strength in the pack, and has connotations of being wild and independent.
It would also be fairly easy to change the fight song: Instead of "Braves on the warpath," it could be "Beasts on the prowl."
Redtails is seen as a tribute to the planes flown by the Tuskegee Airmen, the all-black flying unit of World War II. But this would be a bad idea: It would make people think of an old sports term, "Red Ass," sometimes abbreviated to "R.A.," meaning a player who's always in a bad mood.
It also occurred to me that, once this name change takes effect, the oldest team name in D.C. major league sports will be the NHL's Washington Capitals. They've had that name since their inception in 1974. When the Montreal Expos moved to Washington after the 2004 season, they didn't take the name of the previous team that had moved in 1971, the Washington Senators. They became the Washington Nationals.
The NBA's Washington team began in 1961, as the Chicago Packers. But, given the rivalry between the NFL's Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers, this was seen as silly. So, after just 1 season, they became the Chicago Zephyrs. But they lost money, and after just 1 more year, they moved to Baltimore, taking the name of that city's former NBA team, the Baltimore Bullets. It was alliterative, and spoke of speed and damage-causing ability.
But in 1973, they moved down the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. In 1997, tired of hearing that Washington was "the murder capital of the world," dropped the name Bullets and became the Washington Wizards.
*
Top 10 Sports Teams That Should Change Their Names
Dishonorable Mention: Every team in Major League Soccer whose "mascot" is simply "FC" (for "Football Club") or "United." I know it's hard coming up with a good one, but show some imagination.
Also, in many cases in England, where the practice began, calling a team "United" meant it was a merger of two different teams. That is not the case in any team currently in MLS.
Dishonorable Mention: The Boston Red Sox, the Houston Astros and the New England Patriots. These teams' names have been forever tainted by the organization's blatant cheating.
10. Orlando Magic. I get it: The Orlando area is most famous for being the home of Walt Disney World, "The Magic Kingdom." But what was wrong with "Magicians"? The Washington NBA team hadn't yet adopted "Wizards," and even if they had, the existence in the NFL of "Raiders" didn't stop a football team in Florida from taking the name "Buccaneers." (More about that a little later.) Nor did the existence of the Baltimore Colts prevent the Denver Broncos, nor multiple names for cats and birds.
Already, the favorites for the new name seem to be Redwolves and Redtails -- not least because it would keep the R initial. Redwolves suggests strength in the pack, and has connotations of being wild and independent.
A sample Redwolves logo
It would also be fairly easy to change the fight song: Instead of "Braves on the warpath," it could be "Beasts on the prowl."
Redtails is seen as a tribute to the planes flown by the Tuskegee Airmen, the all-black flying unit of World War II. But this would be a bad idea: It would make people think of an old sports term, "Red Ass," sometimes abbreviated to "R.A.," meaning a player who's always in a bad mood.
It also occurred to me that, once this name change takes effect, the oldest team name in D.C. major league sports will be the NHL's Washington Capitals. They've had that name since their inception in 1974. When the Montreal Expos moved to Washington after the 2004 season, they didn't take the name of the previous team that had moved in 1971, the Washington Senators. They became the Washington Nationals.
The NBA's Washington team began in 1961, as the Chicago Packers. But, given the rivalry between the NFL's Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers, this was seen as silly. So, after just 1 season, they became the Chicago Zephyrs. But they lost money, and after just 1 more year, they moved to Baltimore, taking the name of that city's former NBA team, the Baltimore Bullets. It was alliterative, and spoke of speed and damage-causing ability.
But in 1973, they moved down the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. In 1997, tired of hearing that Washington was "the murder capital of the world," dropped the name Bullets and became the Washington Wizards.
*
Top 10 Sports Teams That Should Change Their Names
Dishonorable Mention: Every team in Major League Soccer whose "mascot" is simply "FC" (for "Football Club") or "United." I know it's hard coming up with a good one, but show some imagination.
Also, in many cases in England, where the practice began, calling a team "United" meant it was a merger of two different teams. That is not the case in any team currently in MLS.
Dishonorable Mention: The Boston Red Sox, the Houston Astros and the New England Patriots. These teams' names have been forever tainted by the organization's blatant cheating.
10. Orlando Magic. I get it: The Orlando area is most famous for being the home of Walt Disney World, "The Magic Kingdom." But what was wrong with "Magicians"? The Washington NBA team hadn't yet adopted "Wizards," and even if they had, the existence in the NFL of "Raiders" didn't stop a football team in Florida from taking the name "Buccaneers." (More about that a little later.) Nor did the existence of the Baltimore Colts prevent the Denver Broncos, nor multiple names for cats and birds.
One of the offshoots of the Harlem Globetrotters was named the Harlem Magicians, but the Globies' organization, which also owns the rights to the name of the team's official usual opponents, the Washington Generals, didn't sue the USFL when it named a team the New Jersey Generals.
When the team name was announced in 1987, along with the other 1988 and '89 expansion teams, including their Florida arch-rivals, the Miami Heat, Rick Reilly wrote in Sports Illustrated that, given that the biggest star in the NBA at the time was Earvin "Magic" Johnson, there should be a player named Magic Orlando.
(He also joked about the Heat name: Instead of the very sharp logo of a flaming basketball going through a hoop, he said the logo might be a fat guy sunning himself on a beach. Also, he asked, What is one "Heat" called? He imagined a woman telling a friend, "I met the cutest guy. He plays basketball in Miami. He says he's a Hot.")
9. Brooklyn Nets. Renaming the American Football League's New York Titans the Jets made sense: It rhymed with Mets, and, for the foreseeable future, they were going to be sharing a stadium that was located near LaGuardia Airport.
When the team name was announced in 1987, along with the other 1988 and '89 expansion teams, including their Florida arch-rivals, the Miami Heat, Rick Reilly wrote in Sports Illustrated that, given that the biggest star in the NBA at the time was Earvin "Magic" Johnson, there should be a player named Magic Orlando.
(He also joked about the Heat name: Instead of the very sharp logo of a flaming basketball going through a hoop, he said the logo might be a fat guy sunning himself on a beach. Also, he asked, What is one "Heat" called? He imagined a woman telling a friend, "I met the cutest guy. He plays basketball in Miami. He says he's a Hot.")
9. Brooklyn Nets. Renaming the American Football League's New York Titans the Jets made sense: It rhymed with Mets, and, for the foreseeable future, they were going to be sharing a stadium that was located near LaGuardia Airport.
Naming a basketball team the Nets, just so that it rhymed, was stupid. And, given that all 3 teams have been joke franchises -- since 1986, the teams are 0-4 in finals between them -- why would the NBA team want to be associated with the Mets and the Jets?
It was even worse with World Team Tennis, which began in 1974: The local team was named the New York Sets. This was dumped in 1977, in favor of New York Apples, since New York City is "The Big Apple." But the league folded in 1978.
8. Buffalo Bills. The AFL team that began in 1960 was actually the 2nd team with the name. The 1st was in the All-America Football Conference of 1946-49. At that point, there were still living people who remembered William F. Cody, a.k.a. Buffalo Bill. And the musical based in part on his Wild West Show, Annie Get Your Gun, included a song titled "Colonel Buffalo Bill."
But he got that name from hunting buffaloes. He had no connection to the city of Buffalo, New York, whose name also has nothing to do with buffaloes. It's an English corruption of "beau fleuve," the French name for the Niagara River. So calling a team "the Buffalo Bills" is stupid. So is the name used for their minor-league baseball team and for former teams in basketball and hockey: "The Buffalo Bisons."
7. Philadelphia Phillies. What the hell is a "Phillie"? It makes it sound like "filly," a young female horse. Even their longstanding Class AA team, formerly the Reading Phillies, has dropped that name, in favor of "The Reading Fightins," for the major league team's occasional nickname, the Fightin' Phils.
6. Indianapolis Colts. The name "Colts" belongs to Baltimore. Also, just as a "filly" is a young female horse, a "colt" is a young male horse. It suggests speed, but also immaturity. And, while we're at it...
5. Chicago Cubs. A young bear? True, it inspired the name of the football team, the Chicago Bears. That sounds strong and fearsome. "Cubs" does not.
4. Collectively, the Pirate Teams. The Pittsburgh Pirates, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Whatever City They're In This Year Raiders. Pirates had to be tough just to survive. But they tended to be vicious killers and thieves. Not something to celebrate.
3. The Los Angeles Lakers. They started in 1947 as the Minneapolis Lakers, as Minnesota is "The Land of 10,000 Lakes." That made sense. But they moved to Los Angeles in 1960, and there's no notable lake anywhere near Los Angeles. The Pacific Ocean, yes; a notable lake, no.
2. The Utah Jazz. They started in 1974 as the New Orleans Jazz. That made sense, if you can get past the idea of ending a team name with a Z instead of an S, and being named after a form of music rather than something that fights and wins.
But they moved to Salt Lake City in 1979. Basketball has been compared to jazz by people like Woody Allen and Wynton Marsalis, because of its use of improvisation and quick thinking. Basketball star Bill Walton, a fan of The Grateful Dead, made an interesting comparison of them to a basketball team in his memoir, including the improvisation angle. But the only music acts Utah is known for are the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Osmond family. Great skill, but not much in the way of improvisation or individuality.
Frank Layden, who coached the Jazz from 1981 to 1988, noted that Utah has the Great Salt Lake, and Los Angeles is the West Coast's jazz hub, and suggested that the teams simply switch names: The Los Angeles Jazz and the Utah Lakers. Neither team's management took him up on it.
1. Los Angeles Dodgers. It was bad enough that team owner Walter O'Malley moved them out of Brooklyn in 1957. But he took the Dodgers name with him. Yes, it was the 2nd-most familiar team name in baseball at the time, behind the Yankees. But it was universally identified with Brooklyn. It was short for "Trolley Dodgers." What does anybody dodge in L.A.? The cops? Drive-by shootings by gangs?
It was even worse with World Team Tennis, which began in 1974: The local team was named the New York Sets. This was dumped in 1977, in favor of New York Apples, since New York City is "The Big Apple." But the league folded in 1978.
8. Buffalo Bills. The AFL team that began in 1960 was actually the 2nd team with the name. The 1st was in the All-America Football Conference of 1946-49. At that point, there were still living people who remembered William F. Cody, a.k.a. Buffalo Bill. And the musical based in part on his Wild West Show, Annie Get Your Gun, included a song titled "Colonel Buffalo Bill."
But he got that name from hunting buffaloes. He had no connection to the city of Buffalo, New York, whose name also has nothing to do with buffaloes. It's an English corruption of "beau fleuve," the French name for the Niagara River. So calling a team "the Buffalo Bills" is stupid. So is the name used for their minor-league baseball team and for former teams in basketball and hockey: "The Buffalo Bisons."
7. Philadelphia Phillies. What the hell is a "Phillie"? It makes it sound like "filly," a young female horse. Even their longstanding Class AA team, formerly the Reading Phillies, has dropped that name, in favor of "The Reading Fightins," for the major league team's occasional nickname, the Fightin' Phils.
6. Indianapolis Colts. The name "Colts" belongs to Baltimore. Also, just as a "filly" is a young female horse, a "colt" is a young male horse. It suggests speed, but also immaturity. And, while we're at it...
5. Chicago Cubs. A young bear? True, it inspired the name of the football team, the Chicago Bears. That sounds strong and fearsome. "Cubs" does not.
4. Collectively, the Pirate Teams. The Pittsburgh Pirates, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Whatever City They're In This Year Raiders. Pirates had to be tough just to survive. But they tended to be vicious killers and thieves. Not something to celebrate.
3. The Los Angeles Lakers. They started in 1947 as the Minneapolis Lakers, as Minnesota is "The Land of 10,000 Lakes." That made sense. But they moved to Los Angeles in 1960, and there's no notable lake anywhere near Los Angeles. The Pacific Ocean, yes; a notable lake, no.
2. The Utah Jazz. They started in 1974 as the New Orleans Jazz. That made sense, if you can get past the idea of ending a team name with a Z instead of an S, and being named after a form of music rather than something that fights and wins.
But they moved to Salt Lake City in 1979. Basketball has been compared to jazz by people like Woody Allen and Wynton Marsalis, because of its use of improvisation and quick thinking. Basketball star Bill Walton, a fan of The Grateful Dead, made an interesting comparison of them to a basketball team in his memoir, including the improvisation angle. But the only music acts Utah is known for are the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Osmond family. Great skill, but not much in the way of improvisation or individuality.
Frank Layden, who coached the Jazz from 1981 to 1988, noted that Utah has the Great Salt Lake, and Los Angeles is the West Coast's jazz hub, and suggested that the teams simply switch names: The Los Angeles Jazz and the Utah Lakers. Neither team's management took him up on it.
1. Los Angeles Dodgers. It was bad enough that team owner Walter O'Malley moved them out of Brooklyn in 1957. But he took the Dodgers name with him. Yes, it was the 2nd-most familiar team name in baseball at the time, behind the Yankees. But it was universally identified with Brooklyn. It was short for "Trolley Dodgers." What does anybody dodge in L.A.? The cops? Drive-by shootings by gangs?
Maybe we should call them "The Los Angeles Baseball Team." And if the Los Angeles Angels have a problem with that, well, they're in neither the City of Los Angeles nor the County of Los Angeles.
But then, in November 1986, I visited Orlando, and the football picks guy in the Orlando Sentinel referred to the "East Rutherford Giants" and the "East Rutherford Jets." He said, "It's funny how these East Rutherford teams always end up on television. It must be some town."
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