The Washington Redskins announced Monday that they will change the name and logo of their team after approximately 87 years of using it, following corporate and public pressure to get rid of the nickname due to racial overtones.
The Navajo Nation issued a statement on the withdrawal of the Redskins name.
“July 13, 2020 is now a historic day for all indigenous peoples around the world when the Washington-based NFL team officially announced the withdrawal of the racist and derogatory name and logo of the” Redskins “team, wrote the Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez. “This change did not come about voluntarily by the team’s owners, but because of the increasing pressure and defense of indigenous peoples such as Amanda Blackhorse and many other warriors who fought hard for this change.”
The statement continued: “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. Renaming the team “Code Talkers” to honor the Navajo Code Talkers, and other tribal nations who used their sacred language to help win World War II, would put the team on the path to restoring their reputation and correcting the historical misrepresentation of the Indigenous villages. “
NFL TEAM WILL FINALLY LEAVE NAME AND LOGO AFTER “A COMPLETE TEST”, YEARS OF CRITICISM, SPONSORING THREATS
The Washington franchise has yet to announce a new team name.
Washington has come under fire for the Redskins term in recent weeks, and FedEx publicly requested that the team change its name. The company reportedly threatened to remove signage from the stadium as well if the team failed to make the alteration by the end of the 2020 season.
Renowned retailers like Amazon, Walmart and Target, as well as Nike and Dick’s Sporting Goods, removed Redskins merchandise from their websites last week.
DWAYNE HASKINS JR OF WASHINGTON. PRAISE TEAM TO REMOVE NAME
Also last week, ESPN reported that the team had made the decision to remove Native American images from their logo.
The recent national focus on race relations, sparked by George Floyd’s May 25 death in Minneapolis, brought new scrutiny to the team’s name. It was then that the Redskins said they would carry out a “thorough review” of the team’s name.
The team also hopes to build a new stadium and return within the DC city limits.
“On July 3, we announced the start of a comprehensive review of the team name. That review has started in earnest. As part of this process, we want to keep our sponsors, fans and community informed of our thinking as we go along.
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“Today we announce that we will remove the Redskins name and logo at the conclusion of this review.
“Dan Snyder and Coach Rivera are working closely together to develop a new name and design approach that enhances the position of our proud and rich tradition franchise and inspires our sponsors, fans and community for the next 100 years.”
Fox Gay’s Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.
