It’s one thing to change the name of the Washington Redskins, one of the most historic NFL franchises in existence, but it’s another to pretend that they never even existed. When someone says the Oilers instead of the Titans or Texans, it’s never met with disgust, and most people don’t even bother to correct the usage of the now-outdated name. However, the Washington Football Team Commanders, formerly known as the Redskins, was a name and logo change that was supposed to make people forget about the iconic Redskins altogether.
The team which was founded in 1932 decided on the name Redskins out of respect and honor for Native Americans. The Redskins name has been around since 1933, and the team at that point included four Native American players, and a Native American coach. In 1971, the logo was changed to the iconic John “Two Guns” White Calf – which was decided on between coach George Allen and the Red Cloud Indian Fund, who he consulted to help approve a decision for the redesigned modern NFL logo. The team’s name and logo were by design to honor Native American people – not the 2020 redefinition where it was supposed to be taken offensively.
Co-CEO and co-owner Tanya Snyder, wife of Washington Commanders owner Dan Synder, was rallying the team before the Sunday game against the Green Bay Packers when she said the name “Redskins” multiple times. This, of course, caused outrage among many. It can be assumed that the same people who are so holier than thou after 2020 had no issues or non-offensive nicknames for the Redskins previous to 2020, but now that they are on the “right” side of history, they need to virtue signal whenever possible.
Fox News Writes:
“Hail to the Redskins! And let’s beat Green Bay“
She said.
The organization decided to ditch the old moniker it had since the inception of the franchise in 1933 when it was then known as the Boston Redskins. During a time of unrest in the U.S. in the summer of 2020, Washington announced it would change the name and settled on Commanders earlier this year.
Snyder took the brunt of criticism on social media.
Fans also chanted “Sell the team” during the team’s game.
The team welcomed back Hall of Famer Art Monk and Super Bowl-winning quarterback Mark Rypien among others to the stadium as the Commanders defeated the Packers 23-21.
Team president Jason Wright also mentioned the old nickname.
“Hail to the ’Skins and hail to the Commanders”
Wright said.
Sadly, former past players and/or their families may have to see their names on the back of “Football Team” or Commanders jerseys with a boring and uninspired logo, all while having the same original Redskins color scheme – making it look like a cheap rip-off of the real thing.
Name changes and logo changes to happen in sports. However, when these changes occur, like the Steelers originally being called the Pirates and having a figure of a man kicking a football on a steel beam, these changes are bought back and sold for “throwback” jerseys, hats, and other clothes and memorabilia. In the case of the Redskins, one of the few names older than the NFL merger, their name was forced to die off and be forgotten.
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