It took a seismic racial quake to make it entirely likely that Dan Snyder will have no choice but to drop the Redskins name. Here’s why it must change.
While deeply unfortunate, it has taken a seismic racial quake to make it entirely likely that Dan Snyder will have no choice but to drop the Redskins name. And it took watching George Floyd get crushed to death before our eyes to get here. It was a global transformational moment that so profoundly shifted public sensibilities that the intolerance for the Redskins name has hit a tipping point.
And let’s be clear: the Redskins name will be changed. The financial pressure is just too great to keep the name.
FedEx
FDX, a major sponsor of the Washington Redskins, has directed the team to change its name. This request follows 80 FedEx investors sending a letter to the company’s CEO Frederick Smith calling on him to «terminate its business and public relationships» with the franchise. Similar letters were sent to Nike
NKE and Pepsi. Government officials have also said the team won’t get their new stadium on federally owned RKF Stadium unless the team changes its name.
The “Redskins” Name Has Become Offensive
Let’s be clear. When the term “Redskins” was originally chosen in 1931, it was not intended as a slur. Franchises obviously select names that they feel will honor their team, not disgrace them. But times change. The meaning we attach to words evolve. There was a time when the word “colored” or “negro” was used to describe African-Americans. Martin Luther King Jr, in his famous “I Have a Dream” speech used the word “negro” eight times.
