The Washington Commanders’ team president, Jason Wright, has firmly rejected any suggestion of reverting to the old team name.
In response to a petition by the nonprofit Native American Guardians Association (NAGA), which has garnered nearly 130,000 signatures, advocating for the reinstatement of the controversial name, Wright stated that going by the Redskins again was a non-starter for the franchise.
“It is not being considered. Period,” team president Jason Wright said on Wednesday.
The NAGA sent an open letter to the team in early August, expressing concerns about the “cancel culture” targeting Native Americans and the erasure of their contributions to American history.
#Commanders president Jason Wright said on @1067theFan that they will not change their team name back to Redskins.
"It is not being considered. Period." pic.twitter.com/11Zzj2kshJ
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) August 30, 2023
The letter appealed for the team to embrace its longstanding connection with the Native American community by renaming themselves Redskins once more, with the aim of fostering awareness and education about Native American history.
The organization, which has faced allegations of being a non-existent group, defended its legitimacy and denounced the efforts to diminish Native history.
Eunice Davidson, co-founder and president of NAGA, emphasized that the goal is to preserve Native heritage and combat discrimination.
“People want to call us fake and they’ve done that before,” Davidson said in a statement to Fox News earlier this week.
“They never tell our story and that’s their goal. To wipe out Native history. It’s discrimination when you go after one culture like this.”
Meanwhile, the NFL’s application of anti-racism messaging in the end zone has appeared to come to an end.
The NFL will no longer ‘End Racism’.
They will Play Football. pic.twitter.com/hgZaXmz1sA
— PJ Green (@PJGreenTV) August 26, 2023
According to a report, the league quietly changed phrases like “End racism” and “It takes all of us,” which appeared on the field and the back of players helmets, with “Play football.”
These initiatives were introduced in response to the George Floyd protests in 2020, but eagle-eyed noticed the slogan change up during last weekends Chiefs-Browns preseason game.
“The NFL will no longer ‘End Racism’. They will Play Football,” digital sports reporter PJ Green tweeted last week.
UPDATE: #NFL spokesperson Brian Brian McCarthy gave @_MLFootball some clarification regarding the endzone stencils, saying there will be NO change from previous years and the “It Takes All of Us” and “End Racism” will remain.
“There’s been no change from previous years.… pic.twitter.com/3vx2837aD2
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) August 30, 2023
“Well, the “end racism” slogan was kinda ironic behind the “Chiefs” wordmark, no?” a commenter quipped.
“Congrats to the NFL on ending racism!” someone else responded.
“All it took was some field paint,” another person sniped. “Why didn’t they think of that sooner. I bet a jersey ad patch could cure cancer.”
However, NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy clarified that the messages will continue in the regular season.
According to ML Football, “Play Football” was featured for preseason as part of a league-wide initiative.”
“There’s been no change from previous years,” McCarthy told the reporter.
“Beginning with the regular season, clubs will have in endzones stencils featuring “It Takes All of Us” and “End Racism.”
Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who led led the league in kneeling during the National Anthem in protest of racial injustice in 2016, doesn’t believe the NFL’s social justice efforts have done much.
“I haven’t seen any substantial change,” Kaepernick told NPR in May. “I think there is a lot of work to do on that front.”
The same month the NFL announced that contributions to their Inspire Change initiative had hit $300 million.
They also noted that both the NFL and the Players Coalition had renewed 15 grant partnerships to “progress in police-community relations, criminal justice reform, education, and economic advancement.”
“Obviously, not playing and being out of the NFL for six years is an indictment on where they are currently at,” Kaepernick, who hasn’t played since going 1-10 with the 49ers in 2017, added.
“So I wouldn’t put them at the forefront of goodwill and best of intentions in how they operate.”