The calls for the Washington Redskins to change their team name are getting louder. As pressure mounts on team owner Daniel Snyder from NFL fans, FedEx and Nike, it sounds like Snyder has no plans to make any kind of changes.
Daniel Snyder has “no official plans” to change Washington Redskins name
Many around the sports world have called on Snyder for years to change the team’s name from the current offensive term “Redskins”, which is defined as an offensive racial slur by Dictionary.com and Merriam-Webster.
The scrutiny of Snyder and the team’s name intensified this week when investors worth more than $620 billion, put pressure on Nike, FedEx and PepsiCo to end their relationships with the team. FedEx, which holds the naming rights to the team’s stadium, called for change and Nike pulled all of the team’s merchandise from its online stores.
Despite the significant actions being taken by corporations and growing outrage regarding the name, Snyder seems ready to stick by it.
Snyder seems to be sticking firmly by the stance he has held for years, which he made clear to USA Today and ESPN nearly a decade ago.
“We will never change the name of the team,” Snyder said, via USA Today. “As a lifelong Redskins fan, and I think that the Redskins fans understand the great tradition and what it’s all about and what it means, so we feel pretty fortunate to be just working on next season.
He expressed the same sentiment in 2014 when being interviewed by ESPN, making it clear he would never cater to the pressure because he viewed the team’s name as a term of honor and respect for Native Americans.
The team did make one notable move to address its history in June, removing the name of former team owner George Preston Marshall from its Ring of Fame. The decision came after backlash against the team’s continued support for Marshall, who was a supporter of segregation and was the last owner to sign a Black player in the NFL.
While changing the team’s name to the Redtails, Warriors or Redhawks would allow the club to keep its color scheme and just change its logo, Snyder seems ready to stick by the name as long as he is in control. Now the pressure will be on the NFL to determine if it wants to step in and demand change.