The NFL team, formerly known as the Redskins, will transition to the Washington football team at least during the 2020 season, giving the organization time to choose a new name full time.
Key points:
- The team has been known as the Redskins since 1933.
- The Redskins nickname was dropped due to its racial overtones.
- New Seattle Ice Hockey Franchise Named Kraken
The Indian head logo is over and the name of Native American advocates has called a dictionary-defined racial slur.
Here to stay are the burgundy and gold colors that are synonymous with the franchise’s historical history.
Executive vice president and chief marketing officer Terry Bateman, who was hired Monday to oversee the name change and rebranding process, called the temporary design “a good link between history and the future.”
“This is an organic type of movement,” Bateman said in a phone interview Thursday (local time).
“We wanted to think it over and really try to figure out what is the best approach for us, for the community, for the fans, for everyone, and we concluded that what we wanted was to go slow with the process name change and really be very thoughtful, very inclusive, respectful and all of those things.
With training camp opening next week, the process of scrubbing the old name and logo from everything at the team headquarters in Ashburn, Virginia, to the team ground at FedEx Field begins on Friday.
Bateman expects that process to be completed at the beginning of the season.
This is when the actual job begins to select a new name.
Over 1,000 names have been submitted, and Red Wolves and Red Tails are among the betting favorites at online bookmakers.
“I received long letters from people explaining their idea,” said Bateman.
“What I tell everyone is that everything that goes in will be put in the hopper.”
Owner Dan Snyder recently dropped the Redskins name amid pressure from sponsors and after decades of criticism from Native American advocacy groups.
The franchise that started in Boston in 1932 has been nicknamed Redskins since 1933.
The number of a player’s jersey will replace the logo of the Washington helmets, which will have their first approach on September 13 in the season opener against Philadelphia.
Washington Football Team will be the name during 2020 and could go further if the name change process continues.
“We are not going to put in an artificial time frame,” Bateman said.
Marketing experts expect Snyder, coach Ron Rivera, and Washington’s creative department to consult with the community before determining a new name.
Bateman expects fans, sponsors, and others to have input before making a final decision.
“I think it is very important because you don’t want to do [a name change] again, “Carnegie Mellon associate professor of marketing and strategy Tim Derdenger said recently.
“You don’t want to mess this up, so you really have to take it seriously.”
NHL presents the Seattle Kraken
If Washington wanted advice on choosing a new name, they could search across the country for Washington state after the new Seattle-based National Hockey League ice hockey team announced its new franchise name as Seattle. Kraken.
The new team was inundated with more than 1,200 potential names, before shrinking to five.
Heidi Dettmer, director of marketing for the franchise, said the franchise understood the name would likely have criticism.
But for a franchise that has the Hollywood influence of Jerry Bruckheimer, who is one of the owners, the play was bold and aggressive.
“We wanted to make sure that it was really authentic for Seattle and that it was a city built by the sea, both figuratively and literally, it really works, very well,” Dettmer said.
“So if you combine that kind of local Seattle flavor, our maritime history, with the battle cry of the fans, is one of the ways in the discovery phase that we got this name.”
AP / ABC
.
