THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
It took well over a year with, no doubt, several long visits to the drawing board, checking surveys and public opinion and all the marketing solutions, but finally they got there.
On Wednesday morning, during NBC's TODAY programme, Jason Wright, the team president, made the official announcement that the Washington Football Team have their new name.
The Washington Commanders go forward into the 2022 season hoping that the new moniker will breathe new life into the franchise and steer them back to winning ways.
It was July 2020 that the team officially "retired" the Redskins from their name, after long campaigns from native Americans and their supporters, who saw the name as a racist slur. That caused many backers and corporate sponsors to pull their money away - even the stadium sponsor FedEx threatened to cut all ties.
In 2013 owner Dan Snyder vowed to never change the name and logo, but when principal partners such as Nike, Bank of America, Pepsi, and Amazon started to pull out the substantial amounts invested into the franchise, even he had to take notice of the groundswell of emotion that this subject was causing. The killing of George Floyd in May 2020 caused a further review into this, and Snyder had to give way.
Looking to the future, Wright said during the early morning brief, "It's a name that has the weight and meaning befitting a 90-year-old franchise. It's something that broadly resonated with our fans and it's something that we believe embodies the values of service and leadership that really define the [District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia] area. It's also something, importantly, that we could own and grow for the next 90 years."
For a long time now the Washington franchise has struggled off the field as much as they have on it. The name and logo aside, they have been hit with allegations of misconduct in the workplace, and despite owner Snyder stepping away in 2021 the team slipped back into a losing season, the 17th time they had missed the playoffs during his 23-year tenure. Wright seizes this opportunity as a fresh start, and a time for change in fortunes around the whole club.
In the main most fans are happy with the new image, but as always there are those that aren't as impressed, "Washington Commanders? Well, that's a name." tweeted one fan shortly after the announcement. Another quipped, "The Commanders sounds like a team name from Any Given Sunday."
Snyder was present at the unveiling and said, "As an organisation, 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 nations capital. It is important for our organisation and fans to pay tribute to our past traditions, history, legacy, and the greats that came before us. Today may mark the first day for the Washington Commanders, but we are and always will be Washington."
Washington was not the only team to change their ident as, soon after they chose to reconsider, the Cleveland baseball team did the same. Their change from the Indians to the Guardians will start from this season. There has also been a change in stance from the Rugby Union side Exeter Chiefs on this side of the pond, who from July this year will see a logo change from a Native American in full headdress to that of a chief of the Celtic Iron Age Dumnonii Tribe, which is more befitting of the ancient history in the area. Read more about the Exeter decision here.
