The Washington NFL franchise has decided to scrap the name "Redskins" and the team logo and mascot, freeing commentators and analysts and journalists to refer to the team without having to make a decision about whether they were perpetuating a demeaning stereotype in the process.
That came in an announcement July 13, 10 days after it announced it was reviewing the name. It has been under heavy pressure to drop the name in the midst of a national reckoning over racism and discrimination.
"Today, we are announcing we will be retiring the Redskins name and logo upon completion of this review," the team said. No word on what the new name will be (Monuments, Warriors?). "Dan Snyder [the team's owner] and Coach [Ron] 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," the team said.
Some announcers have chosen not to use it on air in solidarity with those who say it is a racist term that has no business being used.
Broadcasters in the U.S. have pretty much left whether to use the team name up to their analysts and sports anchors, though the hometown newspaper, the Washington Post, decided not to use the name on its editorial page, which has urged a name change, while continuing to use it on the news pages.
Back in 2014, the FCC's Media Bureau rejected a petition to deny the renewal of Snyder's Washington radio station, WWXX-FM, over its use of the term "Redskins" on-air to refer to the team. Challenges to several TV station licenses were also lodged on the grounds the term was profane, but the FCC did not see it that way.
The name change is another byproduct of the national reckoning on racism prompted by the death of George Floyd.
The team's not-so-proud history includes being the last team in the league to integrate. The statue of its former owner George Preston Marshall, who resisted integration until the early 1960s, was removed from in front of the team's former home, RFK Stadium in Washington, in the wake of the Floyd protests.
