The NFL team formerly known as the Washington Redskins may permanently change its name to the Washington Football Team, the temporary moniker the franchise landed on while searching for a permanent name.
Dan Snyder, the owner of the team, told The Wall Street Journal in an email ahead of the Sunday game against the Philadelphia Eagles, it was “possible” the interim team name could become the permanent designation for the NFL team, whose former name was the subject of on-and-off controversy for a number of years.
“If the Washington Football Team name catches on and our fans embrace it then we would be happy to have it as our permanent name,” wrote Snyder. “I think we have developed a very classy retro look and feel.”
Snyder also told the WSJ that, in the last several years, the team name “had increasingly become a distraction from our primary focus of football.”
“So, in the spirit of inclusivity, we made the decision to move forward. We want our future name and brand to stand for something that unifies people of all backgrounds and to continue to be a source of pride for the next 100 years or more,” he wrote.
When the NFL team rolled out the name-change earlier this summer, the Washington Football Team was the subject of much online ridicule among people who pointed out that the name itself could be cancel-worthy — in addition to there being ample potential for general mockery.
And isn’t Washington racist according to the cancel leftists? So why wasn’t this just “The Football Team”…? https://t.co/9LP9EKq7lo
— Jenna Ellis (@JennaEllisEsq) July 23, 2020
Pretty sure since George Washington is also cancelled the team name is still racist.
They should just call themselves “Football Team.” https://t.co/G5khg2bDcK
— Steven Crowder (@scrowder) July 23, 2020
Just waking back up from my pregame nap to see about The Washington Football team??? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣. Is that real?? No way! Oh man they had a thorough intense long board meeting about that one huh. 🥴🤦🏾♂️
— LeBron James (@KingJames) July 23, 2020
The Washington Redskins should keep their name but change the logo to a potato.
— ZUBY: (@ZubyMusic) July 23, 2020
“The Washington Football Team played like a group of guys determined to make a name for themselves,” reported The Associated Press after the NFL team won its first game under its place-holder name on Sunday.
As The Daily Wire previously reported, after the Redskins announced their upcoming name change earlier this summer, the Navajo Nation suggested the NFL team take up the name “Code Talkers” to honor the “Navajo Code Talkers, and other tribal nations who used their sacred language to help win” the Second World War.
The suggestion does not appear to have taken off. In fact, back in 2013, USA Today reported that the Washington Redskins were criticized by some people for honoring Navajo Codetalkers during a Native American Heritage month ceremony at the stadium.