The Washington Redskins issued a statement that they will “undergo a thorough review of the team’s name” amid renewed pressure.
“In light of recent events around our country and feedback from our community, the Washington Redskins are announcing the team will undergo a thorough review of the team’s name,” the team said in its statement. “This review formalizes the initial discussions the team has been having with the league in recent weeks.”
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement Friday that the league has had “ongoing discussions” with team owner Dan Snyder and was “supportive of this important step.”
According to Mark Maske of the Washington Post, the review is expected to result in a new team name.
From our story, source familiar with the discussions between Daniel Snyder and the NFL: “You know where this leads. They’re working on that process [of changing the name]. It will end with a new name. Dan has been listening to different people over the last number of weeks.”
— MarkMaske (@MarkMaske) July 3, 2020
The recent national debate over racism renewed calls for the franchise to change the name, and sponsors started mounting their own pressure over the last 24 hours.
FedEx, whose name is on the team’s stadium, said Thursday, “We have communicated to the team in Washington our request that they change the team name.” On Thursday night, Nike removed all Redskins gear from its online store. Pepsi issued a statement on Friday morning asking for a change.
In 2013, Redskins owner Dan Snyder made it clear that the name will never change.
#Redskins owner Dan Snyder in 2013 on changing the team name: “We’ll never change the name. It’s that simple. NEVER — you can use caps.”
— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) July 2, 2020
From what it sounds like, a change is coming.
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