“You know where this leads," one of the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “They’re working on that process [of changing the name]. It will end with a new name. Dan has been listening to different people over the last number of weeks.”
Asked whether a change was certain, the person said, “I don’t want to say 100 percent. It’s very likely headed in that direction.”
A second person with knowledge of the situation said: “It’s not a matter of if the name changes but when.”
One of the people familiar with discussions between the team and league said the change “potentially” could take place before the 2020 season, currently scheduled to begin Sept. 10, and the other said “it’s trending that way.”
In the Redskins’ statement, the team said the review “formalizes the initial discussions the team has been having with the league in recent weeks.” It did not announce a timeline for the review.
“This process allows the team to take into account not only the proud tradition and history of the franchise but also input from our alumni, the organization, sponsors, the National Football League and the local community it is proud to represent on and off the field,” Snyder said in the statement.
In a prepared statement, Goodell expressed the league’s support for the team’s review.
“In the last few weeks we have had ongoing discussions with Dan and we are supportive of this important step,” Goodell said in a written statement.
The Redskins’ announcement and sudden about-face on an issue that has long roiled the franchise comes on the heels of a broader nationwide discussion on race and a societal reckoning with the country’s history. Since George Floyd was killed while in police custody in May, monuments have fallen, flags have been barred and protests calling for sweeping change, largely focused on racial equity and police brutality, have taken place in cities from coast to coast.
While the Redskins’ statement made no specific mention of a name change, the review will be seen league-wide as a first step toward a move the organization — and Snyder, specifically — has long resisted. Snyder, who grew up a fan of the franchise before purchasing the team in 1999, famously drew a line in the sand in a 2013 interview, saying “We’ll never change the name. It’s that simple. NEVER — you can use caps.”
But there has been growing momentum for a change in recent weeks, and on Thursday FedEx, a longtime sponsor and naming-rights holder of the team’s home stadium, issued a one sentence statement calling for a change. Fred Smith, the FedEx chief executive, is a minority owner of the Redskins.
“We have communicated to the team in Washington our request that they change the team name,” the Memphis-based company said.
Investors and shareholders have been applying pressure on the team’s corporate sponsors, and many welcomed the Redskins’ announcement Friday.
“We have been in conversations with the NFL and Washington management for a few weeks about this issue,” a PepsiCo spokesperson said in a statement Friday. “We believe it is time for a change. We are pleased to see the steps the team announced today, and we look forward to continued partnership.”
Larry Di Rita, Bank of America’s president for the Washington market, said in a statement: “As a partner and sponsor, we have encouraged the team to change the name and we welcome this announcement.”
While Nike has yet to make a public statement, the company removed Redskins’ merchandise from its online store Thursday.
Carla Fredericks, among the leaders of the corporate investors representing $620 billion in assets that pressed FedEx, Nike and Pepsi to cut ties with the team if it didn’t change its name, on Friday called for the Redskins' review process to be expedient and be led by native voices.
“We don’t think that a long review process is necessary for a dictionary-defined racial slur,” said Fredericks, director of First Peoples Worldwide and director of the University of Colorado Law School’s American Indian Law Clinic. "And whatever review process is undertaken should be undertaken with native leadership at the forefront.”
Snyder has long said the team name and mascot are a source of pride, honoring the heritage of Native Americans.
“We believe this review can and will be conducted with the best interest of all in mind,” the team said in its statement Friday.
The Redskins have long defended the name in the face of legal challenges, and for years the issue has been a contentious one in political circles, with numerous lawmakers and even President Barack Obama calling for a change. The name more recently has threatened to sink any hopes of the team returning to Washington, as both local and federal leaders have said a new stadium would be contingent on a new name.
Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) hailed Friday’s development as a tipping point in a long-running movement.
“I have been working on this for a decade because I believe all people, including Native Americans, should be treated with dignity and respect –- and not dehumanized as mascots," she said. “Now that the corporate community is joining the movement and putting the dignity of people over profits, it is a true example of transformative change and signals that we are at a tipping point.”
While the team had been adamant the nickname would not change, the organization has found itself wrestling in recent weeks with its past. In June, the team removed the name of George Preston Marshall, its founding owner and the last NFL owner to integrate his team’s roster, from the franchise’s Ring of Honor. The decision came just one day after a monument to Marshall was defaced and later dismantled and removed from outside RFK Stadium, the franchise’s longtime home stadium.
As social issues have moved to center stage in recent weeks, the name issue promised to hang over the 2020 season and already team officials have had to answer questions on the matter. Last week, Ron Rivera, the team’s new head coach, told a Chicago radio station, “I think that’s a discussion for another time. I feel a guy that’s my age, my era, you know, that was always part of football, the name of the Washington Redskins.”
In Friday’s statement issued by the team, Rivera said: “This issue is of personal importance to me and I look forward to working closely with Daniel Snyder to make sure we continue the mission of honoring and supporting Native Americans and our Military.”
Les Carpenter contributed to this report.
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