Washington Redskins to change ‘racist’ name

Washington, July 13 (AFP/APP):   The Washington Redskins confirmed Monday the team is changing its name following pressure from sponsors over a word widely criticized as a racist slur against Native Americans.

Washington announced on July 3 that the Redskins name had been placed under review after a wave of rallies against racial injustice swept across the United States following George Floyd’s death on May 25.

“Today, we are announcing we will be retiring the Redskins name and logo upon completion of this review,” the NFL team said in a statement.

A replacement name was still being worked upon, the statement added. Washington owner Dan Snyder had long resisted calls to change the team’s name but faced mounting demands to rethink that position as protests erupted against systemic racism after the death of Floyd, an unarmed African-American man, during his arrest by police in Minneapolis.

Native American leaders had written to the NFL commissioner Roger Goodell last week demanding an immediate change of the team’s name, logo and mascot.

Washington’s announcement was applauded by Ray Halbritter, an Oneida Nation representative and head of the “Change the Mascot” campaign.

“The NFL and Dan Snyder have finally made the right call and Change the Mascot commends them for it,” Halbritter said in a statement.

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