{"id":20734,"date":"2022-02-04T11:22:40","date_gmt":"2022-02-04T16:22:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=20734"},"modified":"2022-02-04T11:23:18","modified_gmt":"2022-02-04T16:23:18","slug":"cronkite-news-washington-football-team-unveils-replacement-for-racist-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/02\/04\/cronkite-news-washington-football-team-unveils-replacement-for-racist-name\/","title":{"rendered":"Cronkite News: Washington football team unveils replacement for racist name"},"content":{"rendered":" \"Not<\/a>
A protest against racist mascots in professional sports. Photo: Fibonacci Blue<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n
Hail to the rename: Indigenous advocates welcome new Washington team name<\/div>\r\n
Friday, February 4, 2022<\/div>\r\n
By Emily Sacia<\/div>\r\n
Cronkite News<\/DIV>\r\n
cronkitenews.azpbs.org<\/A><\/DIV>\r\n

<\/P>\r\nWASHINGTON, D.C. — Native American advocates welcomed the announcement Wednesday that Washington’s pro football team will now be called the Commanders<\/a>, ending a yearslong fight to get rid of a name many deemed racist.

<\/p>\r\nIt was also a turnaround for team owner Daniel Snyder, who had said he would never drop the name, which the team had been called since before moving to Washington in 1937.

<\/p>\r\nBut mounting corporate and public pressure after the death of George Floyd in the summer of 2020 started the 18-month process to drop the name,<\/a> a move advocates welcomed as a good step, but just the “first step \u2026 for healing and reconciliation.”

<\/p>\r\n“For 90 years, the Washington Football Team perpetuated discriminatory and racist behavior both through their use of a dictionary-defined racial slur as a team name and a false and offensive caricature of Native culture as a mascot,” Crystal Echo Hawk, founder and executive director of IllumiNative<\/a>, said in a statement.

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\n\t\t\n\t\t\tIllumiNative (@IllumiNative) on X\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t
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What’s missing from the @Commanders announcement is a commitment to reconcile w\/ the Native community. This is clear in the team\u2019s first promo\u2013which predominantly features the former team name & racial slur.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

\n\t\t\"X\t\tX (formerly Twitter)\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nJosh Silver, who founded Rebrand Washington Football<\/a> in 2015, with two other longtime fans to “undo the damage” of the team’s name, said the group collected 11,000 petition signatures calling on the team to change its “very demeaning” name.

<\/p>\r\n“This was the name of a team in the nation\u2019s capital, symbolic of our racist past,” in a country that still struggles against racism today, Silver said.

<\/p>\r\nBut the only mention of the past by team officials Wednesday was to talk about the team’s legacy – not its former name. Snyder made no mention of the name’s history, focusing instead on the team’s next chapter.

<\/p>\r\n“As an organization, we are excited to rally and rise together as one under our new identity while paying homage to our local roots and what it means to represent the nation’s capital,” he said.

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\n\t\t\n\t\t\tLIVE: Commanders HC Ron Rivera speaks to the media\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t
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Subscribe to the Washington Football Team YouTube channel!Follow us on TikTok: https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@washingtonnfl\u200b\u200bFollow us on Instagram: https:\/\/www.ins…<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

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Washington Football Team: Commanders HC Ron Rivera speaks to the media<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nAs recently as 2013, Snyder told USA Today that he would “never” drop the team name, adding, “It’s that simple. NEVER – you can use caps.”

<\/p>\r\nThe team had been under pressure for years to change the name. Members of Congress<\/a> and the D.C. Council<\/a> called for the team to drop the racist name and the team was sued more than once by groups challenging the name.

<\/p>\r\nThe legal fight included a challenge to the team’s trademark on its name. A group led by Amanda Blackhorse, a member of the Navajo Nation, charged that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office cannot register trademarks for terms that “disparage persons or bring them into contempt or disrepute.”

<\/p>\r\nThe Trademark Trials and Appeal Board agreed in 2014, and that decision<\/a> was later upheld<\/a> by a court that said the team could keep the name but could not hold and enforce a trademark on it.

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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\"IllumiNative\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t
\n\t\t\n\t\t\tIllumiNative (@IllumiNative) on X\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t
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Now the @CommandersFB must commit to doing the work necessary to repair & build trust w\/Native peoples & educate fans about why the name & mascot was so harmful. They have a leadership opportunity to both repair the harm they\u2019ve done & be a leader across all pro sports.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

\n\t\t\"X\t\tX (formerly Twitter)\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n

<\/P>\r\nSnyder and the team fought back against those efforts. But the death of George Floyd triggered protests across the country and highlighted the ongoing frustrations by Native Americans. The change also came after sponsors like Nike and FedEx threatened to sever relationships with the team over the name.

<\/p>\r\n“The tragic murder of George Floyd created a national moment for change,” Silver said. “But it was clear that if advocates did not put the issue on the table, then the corporate sponsors would not have known that this was a serious issue.”

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