*Washington’s NFL team revealed its new name Wednesday…. The Commanders, a tribute to the state’s military ties.
Team owners Daniel and Tanya Snyder along with team president Jason Wright made the announcement at FedEx Field, where they were joined by nearly a dozen current and former players, The Washington Post reports.
The name change “formally closes the team’s 87-year chapter as the Redskins and marks the start of a new era,” the outlet writes.
“As we kick off our 90th season, it is important for our organization and fans to pay tribute to our past traditions, history, legacy and the greats that came before us,” Snyder said. “We continue to honor and represent the Burgundy and Gold while forging a pathway to a new era in Washington.”
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The future of Washington football is here #TakeCommand pic.twitter.com/MwkCLTkVAA
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) February 2, 2022
“We have an opportunity right now to do something a little bit different, and that’s an opportunity to go forward,” Coach Ron Rivera said. “With the Redskins and with the Washington Football Team, we dealt with some pretty anxious situations and circumstances — serious ones. And now’s an opportunity to establish that we’re starting a new chapter. We’re turning the new page. We’re going to go forward.”
The team’s new uniforms have also been revealed— one in all burgundy, an all-white set and alternate black uniforms, per the report.
“We landed on this in part because we believe the Washington Commanders can carry the rich legacy of this team — a championship legacy,” Wright said. “It’s something that broadly resonated with our fans in this process, and it’s something that embodies the values of service and leadership that really characterize the DMV.”
As reported by Seattle PI, 76-year-old Suzan Shown Harjo, who is Cheyenne and Hodulgee Muscogee, has been advocating for sports teams to drop Native imagery and mascots since the 1960s. She called the change “an amazing and a giant step in the maturation of America.”
“That’s sort of our place in the world, Native people’s place in the world, to help the rest of the country come to grips with its past and to understand how to move on,” she said. “And, I hope, how to do it with grace.”
Meanwhile, the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs, NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks and baseball’s Atlanta Braves are not planning to change their name, according to the report.
“Native mascots are inaccurate and stereotypical depictions of Native culture,” said Crystal Echo Hawk, founder and executive director of IllumiNative, a Native American woman-led social justice organization. “They do not honor or celebrate Native peoples but are rather a tool of white supremacy created to dehumanize and objectify us. Research has shown time after time that Native mascots lead to lowered self-esteem and self-worth, and increases rates of depression, self-harm, and violence against Native youth.
“The Washington Commanders are proof that ending the use of Native American imagery in sports is possible. The Cleveland Guardians are further proof.”
“As we kick off our 90th season, it is important for our organization and fans to pay tribute to our past traditions, history, legacy and the greats that came before us,” Snyder said. “We continue to honor and represent the Burgundy and Gold while forging a pathway to a new era in Washington.”
Even with a new name, a new logo and new uniforms, some fans are not embracing the changes.
“A lot of people aren’t going to like it,” said Stephen Boyd, known around the stadium as “Rally Captain,” according to the Post report. “But there’s also going to be a few out here that do like it. Give it time. They will eventually gravitate to it. It’s going to take a minute. But the fact of the matter is, we’re here. We’re die-hards, and we aren’t going anywhere.”
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