It’s time to accept the fact that the Washington Redskins will not be the Washington Redskins for much longer.
This may upset and anger you, or it may be considered a win that was long-overdue. However you feel, start to get used to it. As of Friday morning, the ball is ‘thoroughly’ moving in that direction.
The truth is, Washington has taken several actions over the past couple of weeks that have led to exactly this, whether we saw it or not. It started when they removed the monument of George Preston Marshall from in front of RFK Stadium. Marshall, who was the first owner of the team, and a historic racist, had his name rightfully tarnished and removed from Washington lore. His name was also removed from the lower bowl of seats at FedEx Field.
Once all of that happened, the calls for a name change got louder. While head coach Ron Rivera initially stated that it was “a discussion for another time,” sponsors began to speak out, and on Thursday, FedEx officially asked them for a change, while Nike removed all ‘Redskins’ gear from their website.
And then the news broke on Friday — the team would conduct a ‘thorough review’ of the name, getting opinions of community members, alumni, and former players. “This allows the team to take into account not only the proud tradition and history of the franchise, but also input from our alumni, the organization, sponsors, the NFL, and the local community it is proud to represent on and off the field,” Snyder said in the statement.
So, as NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport put it, this is pretty much inevitable at this point.
Start thinking of new mascots and names, and maybe locate that time-tested ‘Redskins’ tee-shirt that has lasted you for so many years and put it in a safe place. Years down the road, it will be a special piece of history…
Just like the Redskins name. History.
