Daniel Snyder bought the Washington Redskins in 1999, but he never faced as much pressure to change the team’s name as he does now, when the symbols and statues of the country’s past have been knocked down or removed amid intensive scrutiny of those things. . really meant.
The Redskins’ name has been controversial for about a month, as politicians, the media, and now corporate sponsors have asked Snyder to do so without the name that has been part of the organization since 1933, when the team was originally named Boston Redskins.
NIKE THROWS WASHINGTON REDSKINS CLOTHING FROM ITS CONTROVERSY WEBSITE
Snyder has yielded in the past.
Dan Snyder talked about changing the name in 2013 and 2014. (AP Photo / Adrian Kraus, File)
In 2014, Snyder told ESPN that he was not going to succumb to pressure to change the name because he felt that the term “redskins” did not belittle Native Americans, but was a term that dignified them with honor and respect. He also pointed to two Native Americans: William Henry “Lone Star” Dietz, who is named after the team in honor of his heritage, and Walter “Blackie” Wetzel, a former Native American leader who helped design and approve the logo. of the team.
“They are just historical truths, and I would like them to understand, as I think most do, that the name really means honor, respect,” he told ESPN at the time. “We sing ‘Hail to the Redskins’. We don’t say hurt anyone. We say ‘Hail to the Redskins. Braves on the warpath. Fight for old DC’ We only sang it when we scored touchdowns.”
When asked what a “Redskin” was, Snyder replied, “A Redskin is a soccer player. Redskin is our fans. The Washington Redskins fan base represents honor, represents respect, represents pride. Hopefully winning. And, and, it’s positive. Taken out of context, it can take things out of context all over the place. But in this particular case, it is what it is. It’s very obvious.
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In that same year, 50 senators agreed that the Redskins should change their name. A letter to Roger Goodell asked the NFL Commissioner to pressure the organization to rename the team, citing the NBA’s push to eliminate Donald Sterling as the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers when he was heard saying racist comments on a recording.
“We urge you and the National Football League to send the same clear message as the NBA: that racism and bigotry have no place in professional sports,” the senators wrote at the time.
Snyder told USA Today in 2013 that the team “would never change the team name.”
The recent national conversation on racism has renewed calls for the Washington Redskins to change their name. DC Mayor Muriel Bowser called the name an “obstacle” to the team building its stadium and District headquarters, but owner Dan Snyder over the years has shown no indication that he considers it. (AP Photo / Alex Brandon, file)
“As a lifelong Redskins fan, and I think Redskins fans understand the great tradition and what it is all about and what it means, so we feel very fortunate to be working next season,” he said. to the newspaper.
He added: “We will never change the name. It’s that easy. You can NEVER wear caps. “
It is true that the social climate was different six and seven years ago. Things seemed to begin to change in early 2020. Recent public opinion polls seem to favor the Redskins name, and a University of California at Berkeley study published in February said that at least half of the Native Americans surveyed were offended by the term. The editors of the study were adamant about its results, according to WUSA9.
Previous polls by The Washington Post, among others, had shown that Americans were not offended by the name.
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The change in public opinion appears to be related to the death on May 25 of George Floyd, the Minneapolis man who died after an officer knelt on his neck for more than 8 minutes at a time caught on video from a cell phone.
The Redskins team posted a black square on their Twitter page to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, DN.Y., was one of the people who called the team to change the team’s name if they really supported the call for social justice.
Two weeks later, the editorial board of The Washington Post asked the team to change the name, despite its own 2016 polls that revealed that Americans were not offended by the name.
“This should be an easy decision. Mr. Snyder, or, if Mr. Snyder refuses to back out of his “NEVER” statement, the NFL should take advantage of this unique moment in history to get on the right side of history, “the newspaper said.” Change the name. NOW. “
Even when the calls got louder, the Redskins’ wallet was never really threatened, until this week.
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The team is looking to move to a new stadium in the near future, but its move from Maryland to RFK Stadium in DC now depends on the organization’s willingness to change its name, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.
On Thursday, FedEx publicly requested that the Redskins change their name. To make things more interesting, FedEx CEO Fred Smith is also the minority owner of the organization.
Nike also appeared to remove the Redskins team from its website. The merchandise disappeared a day after a group of 87 investment firms sent letters to three of the Redskins’ top corporate sponsors. Nike, FedEx and PepsiCo were urged to pressure Washington team officials to change the name and end their business dealings with the franchise if the property did not comply.
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Washington has not commented on recent developments, but one thing is certain: Calls for the team to change its name have never been stronger than they are now.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
