McEnany Says Native Americans ‘Would Be Very Angry’ by Washington Redskins Name Change

Under mounting pressure from sponsors and retailers, Washington’s NFL team will no longer be known as the Redskins, an offensive term for Native Americans. The club began a review of the name July 3 and “will be retiring the Redskins name and logo upon completion of this review,” according to a team statement Monday. Dan Snyder, the principal owner, and Ron Rivera, the head coach, “are working to develop a new name and design approach.” It’s a sudden reversal by Snyder, who refused for years even to entertain the possibility. In 2013, when the franchise was defending its name in court, Snyder told USA Today, “We’ll never change the name. It’s that simple.” This time, sponsors and other financial partners left Snyder little choice. Earlier this month, FedEx Corp., which holds the naming rights to the team’s stadium in Landover, Maryland, told the team to make a change. Walmart Inc., Target Corp., Amazon.com Inc. and Nike Inc. stopped selling the team’s merchandise. The National Football League said it would support a change. “We appreciate the team’s decision to change its name and logo, and we look forward to the outcome of the next step in the process,” FedEx said in a statement Monday. The support for the name change suggests the power of the current reckoning on race in America. Protests over the killing of George Floyd, a Black man, at the hands of police in late May have expanded to target systemic racism across U.S. industry, government, culture and sports. Before announcing a new name, the team potentially will have to grapple with registering a new trademark. Many so-called trademark squatters have been trying to front-run the team’s change by registering potential new names with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, said Darren Heitner, the founder of Heitner Legal, a firm that specializes in sports law. “I don’t necessarily believe the team would stay away from any names that were applied for,” Heitner said. “The team could simply pay off the owner of a registration and receive an assignment, but it could be a thorn in the side of the team.” In a post on Twitter Monday morning, Heitner noted that there were already three applications pending to register the trademark for “Washington Redtails.” That name would honor the Tuskegee Airmen, the famous all-Black pilot squadron that flew during World War II. None of those applications were filed by the Washington football team. One application was filed jointly by two D.C.-area employees of Deloitte. The NFL, the most popular sports league in America by a wide margin, has been grappling with the growing Black Lives Matter movement for years. Then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began protesting police brutality by kneeling during the pregame national anthem in 2016, a controversial demonstration that divided fans, players and league officials. In June, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell apologized on behalf of the league for “not listening to players” and failing to encourage and support peaceful protest. He didn’t mention Kaepernick by name but later told ESPN he’d encourage a team to sign him. Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2TwO8Gm QUICKTAKE ON SOCIAL: Follow QuickTake on Twitter: twitter.com/quicktake Like QuickTake on Facebook: facebook.com/quicktake Follow QuickTake on Instagram: instagram.com/quicktake Subscribe to our newsletter: https://bit.ly/2FJ0oQZ Email us at [email protected] QuickTake by Bloomberg is a global news network delivering up-to-the-minute analysis on the biggest news, trends and ideas for a new generation of leaders.