Sorry, Redskins fans. The Washington Commanders’ team president just put the kibosh on any effort to bring back the old moniker for Washington, D.C.’s NFL team.
“It is not being considered. Period,” team president Jason Wright told a local radio station on Wednesday.
The comment comes after the nonprofit Native American Guardians Association (NAGA) recently started a petition to change the name back to the Redskins. In 2020, the team changed its name after using the “Redskins” label for 90 years. So far, the group has amassed nearly 130,000 signatures in a little over two months.
NAGA also sent the team a letter that addressed what the group called the “cancel culture” against the Native American population and the erasure of its “steadfast role in American history, including serving as counselors to the Founding Fathers in the creation of the U.S. Constitution.”
NAGA’s missive spoke about the history of the Washington football team and its relationship with the Native American community dating back to its 1933 season when they were named the Boston Redskins.
“At this moment in history, we are formally requesting that the team revitalize its relationship with the American Indian community by (i) changing the name back to ‘The Redskins’ which recognizes America’s original inhabitants and (ii) using the team’s historic name and legacy to encourage Americans to learn about, not cancel, the history of America’s tribes and our role in the founding of this Great Nation,” the letter read.
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The group has also defended itself against accusations that it isn’t a real group.
“People want to call us fake and they’ve done that before,” NAGA co-founder and president Eunice Davidson told Fox News. “They never tell our story and that’s their goal. To wipe out Native history. It’s discrimination when you go after one culture like this.”
Katie Jerkovich contributed to this report.