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Washington NFL Team Announce Name Change Following Years-Long Race Row

Home> News

Updated 14:45 7 Feb 2022 GMTPublished 15:38 2 Feb 2022 GMT

Washington NFL Team Announce Name Change Following Years-Long Race Row

The Washington NFL Team has rebranded itself and changed its name.

Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck

The Washington Football team has revealed its new name as part of a rebrand.

On Wednesday, February 2, on NBC's Today show, Washington unveiled its new logo and name.

The rebranding process first began in July 2020, spurred on by the murder of George Floyd, which caused calls for a change to rise among fans and corporate sponsors.

The team will now be known as the Washington Commanders, Washington Times reports.

Hints around the new name were first noticed when changes were made to the group's website domain name, and signage inside the team's stadium was updated.

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Despite owner Dan Snyder's vow to never change the group's name, the rebranding first began when the team moved away from using the name Redskins, which had been used for more than 87 years.

The team became known as the Washington Football Team for its seasons in 2020 and 2021, but the name was mocked.

Furthermore, amid the rebranding, another scandal came to light after 40 former employees alleged that while working for the team, they had either witnessed or experienced sexual harassment.

An investigation that spanned the course of a year led to the franchise being fined $10 million by the NFL.

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While he denied doing so, Snyder was also accused of hindering the investigation.

The owner also bought out his minority partner in the business for $875 million, however the legal battle proved difficult.

Coach Ron Rivera hopes that the rebranding will offer the team a 'fresh start' to 'step beyond the shadow of what we've had to deal with'.

Fans reportedly suggested almost 40,000 alternative names for the group, and were updated at different stages of the process via a series of newsletters formulated by Jason Wright, president of the team.

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Washingtonjourney.com was also created so that fans could track the rebranding journey.

The new name is hoped to reflect the 'ethos' of the fanbase and also honour the area, according to Wright.

The team's iconic colours of burgundy and gold have also been carried over in the new design.

On Monday, former quarterback Joe Theismann told CBS Sports Radio, 'Commander, basically, is Washington D.C. A lot of commanders in Washington, D.C., in the Pentagon and a lot of different branches of the service. So, to me, that’s really the way I’m looking at it — as positions of leadership when it comes to the new name.'

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If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact Stop Hate UK by visiting their website.

Featured Image Credit: Alamy

Topics: Washington, Sport

Poppy Bilderbeck
Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck is a Senior Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from The University of Manchester in 2021 with a First in English Literature and Drama, where alongside her studies she was Editor-in-Chief of The Tab Manchester. Poppy is most comfortable when chatting about all things mental health, is proving a drama degree is far from useless by watching and reviewing as many TV shows and films as possible and is such a crisp fanatic the office has been forced to release them in batches.

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