The Washington Redskins said it will conduct a “thorough review” of the team’s name.
The announcement, which was first reported Friday by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, comes amid renewed calls for the team to change its name, which critics view as being racist and insensitive to Native Americans.
“This process allows the team to take into account not only the proud tradition and history of the franchise but also input from our alumni, the organization, sponsors, the National Football League, and the local community it is proud to represent on and off the field,” Dan Snyder, the owner of the team, said in a statement.
“This issue is of personal importance to me, and I look forward to working closely with Dan Snyder to make sure we continue the mission of honoring and supporting Native Americans and our military,” said Ron Rivera, the team’s new head coach.
The Redskins, who have used the moniker dating back to the 1930s, have long faced calls to change the team’s name. The pressure has increased amid a national reckoning on race after the death in police custody of George Floyd.
In the ensuing protests, a statue of former Redskins owner George Preston Marshall, who started the franchise in the 1930s, was removed from outside Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium. The team used to play at the stadium for a brief period of time in the 1990s but has spent roughly the past quarter century at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland.
Shortly before the announcement of the review, FedEx asked the team to change the franchise’s name.
“We have communicated to the team in Washington our request that they change the team name,” FedEx told CNN Business in a statement Friday. Adding on pressure was Nike, which said it was pulling all Redskins merchandise from its website.
Both Eleanor Holmes Norton, Washington’s nonvoting delegate to the House, and D.C. Deputy Mayor John Falcicchio said Wednesday that they would not allow Snyder to build a new Redskins stadium at the current site of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, which is federal property, unless he changes the team name.
