A name change was “necessary” for the NFL’s Washington Redskins, one of the oldest franchises in the league, Democrat Eleanor Holmes Norton, Washington, DC said Tuesday.
In an interview on “America’s Newsroom,” Norton, a non-voting member of the House of Representatives, told host Sandra Smith that the name was a racial slur and that the change “should have happened years ago.”
FORMER WASHINGTON PLAYERS TALK ABOUT NAME CHANGE: “I’LL ALWAYS CALL THE WASHINGTON REDSKINS”
“Because even before George Floyd’s protests indicated that the nation would no longer tolerate that, we in the nation’s capital will not tolerate it,” he said.
Washington will not announce its new name because brand issues are still pending.
FILE: In this Oct. 24, 2019, file photo, Native American leaders protest the Redskins team name outside the US Bank Stadium before an NFL football game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Washington Redskins. in Minneapolis. Several Native American leaders and organizations have sent a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell asking the league to force Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder to change the team name immediately. (AP Photo / Bruce Kluckhohn, File)
The team released the name revision on July 3 after top sponsors FedEx, Nike, PepsiCo and Bank of America asked the team to change it. FedEx owns the team’s Maryland Stadium naming rights and CEO Fred Smith has an ownership interest in the team.
Retail giants like Amazon, Walmart, Target, Nike and Dick’s Sporting Goods removed Redskins merchandise from their websites last week.
In a post-decision statement, the Navajo Nation said that July 13, 2020 had become a “historic day for all indigenous peoples around the world.”
“We strongly encourage the NFL organization Washington to rename its team in such a way that it truly honors and respects the first Americans in this country,” wrote Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez.
However, after 87 years under the same name and logo, not everyone was happy with the change, including former players.
“Yes, it is important to know that now that they have been forced to leave their name, and we owe it to their corporate sponsors: FedEx, Bank of America. FedEx said they would no longer respect the naming rights they owned.” Norton pointed out.
However, his work is not over. Last year, Norton introduced a bill titled “RFK Memorial Stadium Campus Transportation Act,” requiring the sale of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium campus to the city by the National Park Service.
The stadium is a site where Redskins owner Daniel Snyder has expressed interest during talks about a possible move back to the District; dropping the team name could prompt a relocation.
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“Once the District of Columbia gets the land, there is a serious dispute between the elected officials (local officials in the District of Columbia) in case the land is used for a soccer stadium that will use it for about eight games, or should it be used for, for example, affordable housing, which has practically disappeared from the district, and other amenities, “she asked.
“So there is another big gap to close before we know whether or not this team will return or not. And then I don’t know if it will have a home,” Norton said.
Fox Gay’s Ryan Gaydos, Paulina Dedaj and Daniel Canova contributed to this report.
