MultiCultClassics is often occupied with real work. As a result, a handful of events occur without the expected blog commentary. This limited series—Delayed WTF—seeks to make belated amends for the absence of malice.
In December 2024, Newsweek reported the Washington Commanders are considering changing the team’s name back to the Washington Redskins.
If it comes to fruition, expect a celebratory breakfast with Aunt Jemima pancakes and Rastus-rebranded Cream of Wheat—in addition to plenty of Land O’Lakes butter featuring the Native American maiden mascot.
MultiCultClassics recommends team officials halt any renaming announcements for the time being, as the Commanders’ playoff progress could be thwarted by Offensive Karma.
Indeed, the team’s decisively dominating win over the Detroit Lions proves the revised name re-energized the franchise—along with new ownership including NBA Legend Magic Johnson. Spirited players—led by breakthrough Quarterback Jayden Daniels—have established the Commanders as championship contenders.
Cultural competence and diversity lead to victory.
Washington Commanders Rumored to Change Their Name Back to Redskins
The NFL’s Redskins became the Washington Football Team in 2020, then the Commanders in 2022, but the team may return to the identity it previously held for 87 years.
Commanders owner Josh Harris has expressed support for a name reversal since he took over the team last year. Harris and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell visited Capitol Hill on Monday to lobby for a bill that would help revitalize Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium. A senior Senate staffer told Newsweek that U.S. Republican Senator John Thune of South Dakota was among the lawmakers who met with Harris and Goodell.
Newsweek reached out to the NFL and Harris’ representatives for comment Tuesday morning.
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources recently passed the D.C. Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act, which would transfer the land with the former stadium and its vicinity to the D.C. government for up to 99 years. The bill now moves to the Senate floor for a full vote.
There is no guarantee that the Commanders would build their next stadium at the site, but it’s possible that the football team returns to its home from 1961 to 1996.
A name reversal would be “a win against this woke mindset / sensitivity we’ve seen the last couple of years,” conservative influencer Amir Odom told Newsweek.
“Why are we politicizing sports team names?” he asked. “There’s more to worry about in this country than grown men fondling balls on a field and what name we refer to them as.”
“Let’s let this be a cultural and community thing. It’s one thing for politicians to share their opinion but to get this involved is a bit much.”
Is the Redskins Name Coming Back?
Harris, who bought the football team from longtime owner Dan Snyder last year for $6.05 billion, had previously said the old Redskins name, originating in 1933, would not return.
But Harris’ group includes NBA legend Magic Johnson, who told NBC News otherwise.
“Everything’s on the table, especially after this year,” Johnson told journalist Craig Melvin last year. “We’ll see where we are with the name.”
Some fans have even urged President-elect Donald Trump to change the team’s name back when he returns to office.
Do Native Americans Want the Redskins Name Back?
In September, ML Football, the credentialed media for everything football related, announced that the family of the Blackfeet chief featured in the logo wants the team to change its name back to Redskins.
“90 percent of Native Americans supported the Redskins name,” the post reads.
“People are fed up with everything being offensive,” Odom said. “If they change the name back it’s definitely a cultural win for keeping things how they are no matter the origin since context has changed. I feel like this could be a nod to keeping historic statues up despite the origins.”
Why Did the Washington Redskins Change Their Name?
“Redskin” is sometimes used as a discriminatory slang term against Indigenous people in the United States.
Amid the Black Lives Matter protests that followed the death of George Floyd, Snyder faced growing pressure from sponsors, including Nike, FedEx and PepsiCo, to change the team’s name. The league and team announced in July 2020 that it was “undergoing a thorough review of the team name.”
Snyder had insisted for over two decades, however, that he was not going to abandon the Redskins name, even as Indigenous advocacy groups fought to get rid of it. In 2020, more than a dozen tribal leaders and organizations sent a letter to Goodell calling for the league to force Snyder into changing the team’s name.
Criticism surrounding the name started in the 1960s and gained larger public traction in the 1990s. The team rebranded itself as the Washington Football Team in 2020 before becoming the Commanders in 2022.
But another name change could hurt the team, Jim Rocco, author of the coming book, Sports Crisis Communications: Cases & Controversies, told Newsweek.
“It’s always bad for a sports brand to sway this way and that in the face of changing political winds. You tend to make your fans dizzy,” he said. “In this case, the idea is actually a little crazy. What’s going to happen if the Democrats retake control of Congress? Will they change the name again?”
David Aaker, known as the “father of modern branding,” agreed that the team is in “a lose-lose situation.”
“Whatever route will upset some people and cause their support of the team to be reduced and that will not be offset by those that ‘won,’” Aaker told Newsweek. “If the name change is made I would not make a big deal out of it.”
Will the Original Redskins Logo Be Used?
Republican U.S. Senator Steve Daines of Montana previously threatened to block legislation pertaining to the RFK stadium site until the NFL and Commanders agreed to honor the old Redskins logo.
In a letter to Fox 5 WTTG, Daines said that the former logo, which depicted Blackfeet Chief Two Guns White Calf, acted as “a symbol of pride, strength and honor” and that it should not be censored.
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which Daines leads, approved legislation last week that would fund revitalization of the D.C. football stadium site.
Who Is the Face of the Original Redskins Logo?
Daines told Newsweek he is now in favor of the bill because the Indigenous family credited with designing the original logo is now satisfied with the team’s efforts to honor Walter “Blackie” Wetzel’s work. There seems to be “good faith negotiations” with the league around the old logo. It is expected to be included on alumni shirts for those who played while sporting the Redskins logo.
“My goal has always been to support the Wetzel family and tribal stakeholders in their goal to bring the iconic Blackfeet logo back to a place of prominence,” Daines told Newsweek. “Native Americans in Montana have diverse views on the Redskins nickname but they overwhelmingly agree that the Blackfeet logo is a symbol of pride, strength and honor. I’ve insisted that the NFL, Commanders and their corporate sponsors celebrate it, not censor it.”
A Commanders team spokesperson on Monday told Newsweek that there are no plans to bring the logo back. It was developed in 1971 by Wetzel, a former leader of Blackfeet Nation. The Redskins image is a composite of Native American photographs, including one featuring a Blackfeet chief.
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