Washington Redskins Name Change | Know Your Meme

Overview

Washington Redskins Name Change refers to the announced alteration of the team name and logo of the NFL team the Washington Redskins. The name and logo had long been criticized for being racist towards Native Americans. As of July 13th, 2020, the new name has not been announced.

Background

The Washington Redskins name had been long criticized for being racist towards Native Americans. The origin of the slang term “redskin” has been claimed by some as a reference to Native American skin tone by settlers, while others argue it was used in reference to body paint worn by certain tribes.

In 1988, the first national protest against the name were held following the Redskins’ Super Bowl XXII victory. In 1992, Native American in Minnesota protested the team’s name at Super Bowl XXVI. Interest in changing the Redskins name was renewed in 2013, with Native American protests held in Texas, Colorado and Minnesota. On March 26th, 2014, The Colbert Report featured a segment titled “The Sport Report” in which Stephen Colbert mocked Redskins owner Daniel Snyder for maintaining his team’s offensive name.

On July 3rd, 2020, FedEx, which owns the naming rights to the Redskins’ stadium, reportedly asked the team to change the name or they would pull their sponsorship. On July 11th, the Redskins announced they would change their name and logo. They did not announce a new name or logo at the time.

Developments

The announcement was met with a mixed response. People who were in favor of the name change celebrated. Twitter user @RoyWoodJr posted a GIF of The Rock sniffing, joking, “When them Redskins jerseys get to burning later tonight,” gaining over 310 retweets and 1,800 likes (shown below, left). Those opposed to the name changed made jokes claiming Washington was bowing too easily to left-wing critics. Dinesh D’Souza posted a series of joke alternatives for the name emphasizing their supposed cowardice (shown below, right).

People also speculated on potential new names for the team. One popular theory was the team would be named the “Washington Warriors,” as team owner Dan Snyder had once tried to create an Arena Football team with the same name.Stephen A. Smith stated it would be his choice for the name (shown below, left). “Washington Foreskins” trended on Twitter as people joked about that being a potential change of the name (shown below, right).

The Onion joked that the team would change its name to the “DC Redskins” (shown below).

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