Washington’s NFL team announced a new name – Commanders – on Wednesday. AP Photo/Patrick Semansky
Washington has some new Commanders in town.
The NFL team announced its new name on Wednesday, 18 months after fresh pressure from sponsors helped convince the once-storied franchise to drop its old moniker following decades of criticism that it was offensive to Native Americans. The organization committed to avoiding Native American imagery in its rebrand after being called the Washington Football Team the past two seasons.
Washington is the latest American major professional team to abandon its name linked to Native Americans, and it was considered one of the most egregious.
Suzan Shown Harjo, who is Cheyenne and Hodulgee Muscogee, called the change “an amazing and a giant step in the maturation of America.” The 76-year-old Harjo has been advocating for sports teams to drop Native imagery and mascots since the 1960s.
“That’s sort of our place in the world, Native people’s place in the world, to help the rest of the country come to grips with its past and to understand how to move on,” she said. “And, I hope, how to do it with grace.”
While Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Guardians have changed their name, the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs, NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks and baseball’s Atlanta Braves have said they are not planning to make a change.
That doesn’t sit well with IllumiNative, a Native American woman-led social justice organization, though founder and executive director Crystal Echo Hawk praised the move by the Commanders.
“Native mascots are inaccurate and stereotypical depictions of Native culture,” the Pawnee woman said in a statement. “They do not honor or celebrate Native peoples but are rather a tool of white supremacy created to dehumanize and objectify us. Research has shown time after time that Native mascots lead to lowered self-esteem and self-worth, and increases rates of depression, self-harm, and violence against Native youth.
“The Washington Commanders are proof that ending the use of Native American imagery in sports is possible. The Cleveland Guardians are further proof.”
Washington owner Dan Snyder said the change pays “homage to our local roots and what it means to represent the nation’s capital.”
“As we kick off our 90th season, it is important for our organization and fans to pay tribute to our past traditions, history, legacy and the greats that came before us,” Snyder said. “We continue to honor and represent the Burgundy and Gold while forging a pathway to a new era in Washington.”
President Joe Biden welcomed the name change by posting a picture on Twitter of Commander, his recently acquired German shepherd puppy, in front of the White House.
“I suppose there’s room for two Commanders in this town,” Biden wrote.
From 1932 until two seasons ago, Washington had used the name Redskins – which offended Native Americans and others.
“Redskins” is the worst name that Native Americans can be called in the English language, according to Harjo. She said the word hearkens to a time when bounties were paid for the scalps of Native Americans.
While thousands of high schools, colleges and professional sports organizations have dropped Native imagery and mascots, she estimated about 1,000 remain.
“All of this cultural thievery really has to stop,” Harjo said. “What the Washington team and the Cleveland team have done is to remove two of the most grotesque and vile images and names that exist. They provided by example what can be done even if you’re making a fortune doing it.”
“Even if they didn’t think it was 100% wrong, the owners, a whole lot of people did. And so they had to as well. So, good, as long as they can help clear the decks.”
Ray Halbritter, representative of the New York-based Oneida Indian Nation and leader of the Change the Mascot campaign, said the name change is “a victory for all of those around the world seeking to advance inclusivity and respect in our societies.”
“Yet, equally important is how we all choose to remember what was involved in getting the team to finally change its name,” Halbritter said.
As the Commanders, Washington keeps the same burgundy and gold colors that were around for the three Super Bowl championships in the 1980s and early ’90s glory days. It follows the desire of team president Jason Wright and Coach Ron Rivera for the new name to have a connection to the U.S. military.
Commanders was chosen over other finalists such as Red Hogs, Admirals and Presidents. Red Wolves, an initial fan favorite, was ruled out earlier in the process because of copyright and trademark hurdles.
The rebranding process had been going on since the summer of 2020, when team officials opted for the temporary Washington Football Team name that lingered into the 2021 season.
The change comes amid the organization’s latest controversy: dozens of former employees describing a toxic workplace culture, which caused Snyder to commission an investigation that was taken over by the NFL. After the investigation by attorney Beth Wilkinson’s firm, the league fined Washington $10 million and Snyder temporarily ceded day-to-day operations of the team to his wife, Tanya, while he focused on a new stadium agreement.
The league did not release a written report of Wilkinson’s findings, a move that sparked criticism. The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform is holding a roundtable discussion Thursday with a handful of former team employees to discuss their experiences.
Getting a stadium deal done is next on the agenda for Snyder and his front office. The team’s lease at FedEx Field expires after the 2027 season and momentum is building for an agreement in Virginia, though sites in Maryland and the District of Columbia are still under consideration.
VIKINGS: Jim Harbaugh will stay at Michigan after all, ending his dalliance with a return to the NFL after interviewing with the Minnesota Vikings for their head coach vacancy.
Harbaugh withdrew from consideration and will be back at his alma mater for an eighth season.
According to a person with knowledge of the decision no offer of the job was made to Harbaugh.
Harbaugh was the last of four candidates the Vikings, who hired new general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah last week, conducted in-person interviews with.
Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell, Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris and Giants defensive coordinator Patrick Graham are the other finalists to replace Mike Zimmer, who was fired after a second straight losing season. Zimmer made the playoffs three times in eight years with the Vikings.
RAVENS: Mike Macdonald was hired as Baltimore’s new defensive coordinator after a year at Michigan. He replaces Don Martindale, who was fired after four seasons.
Macdonald started his career as an intern with the Ravens and spent seven years in Baltimore, serving most recently as the linebackers coach from 2018-20.
BEARS: The Chicago Bears hired Alan Williams as defensive coordinator under new coach Matt Eberflus.
Williams spent the past four seasons as the Colts’ safeties coach while Eberflus was their defensive coordinator. It was his second stint with Indianapolis after coaching defensive backs for 10 seasons from 2002 to 2011.
Williams was Minnesota’s defensive coordinator in 2012 and 2013. He has 30 years of coaching experience, including 21 in the NFL.
BROWNS: The Cleveland Browns say suggestions by former coach Hue Jackson and an associate that he was paid by the team to lose games are “completely fabricated.”
Jackson, who is now coaching at Grambling, made several posts on Twitter inferring that he received bonus payments from Browns owner Jimmy Haslam during his two-plus seasons with the team.
The Browns strongly refuted Jackson’s claims.
“The recent comments by Hue Jackson and his representatives relating to his tenure as our head coach are completely fabricated,” team spokesperson Peter Jean-Baptiste said in a statement. “Any accusation that any member of our organization was incentivized to deliberately lose games is categorically false.”
Jackson was fired eight games into the 2018 season. He went 3-36-1 with Cleveland, losing all 16 games in 2017.
In offering support to former Miami coach Brian Flores – who filed a discrimination lawsuit Tuesday against the NFL and three teams on allegations of racial discrimination and unethical practices – Jackson made statements implying the Browns paid him to lose.
In response to a tweet suggesting Haslam wasn’t offering him $100,000 per loss – the amount Flores claims the Dolphins wanted to pay him – Jackson wrote that Haslam “was happy while we kept losing” and “Trust me it was a good number.”
BRONCOS: New coach Nathaniel Hackett has hired former Packers tight ends coach Justin Outten as his offensive coordinator and former Broncos and Vikings assistant Klint Kubiak as his passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
Hackett also hired Butch Barry as his offensive line coach.
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