Wizards Exec Says Team Unlikely To Change Name Back To Bullets Despite Fan Interest

A top Wizards exec said the franchise would "probably not" be renamed the Bullets. "There are certain instances in the last few years with certain players that I think are going to prevent that," said Monumental Sports & Entertainment Senior VP & CMO Joe Dupriest. Though he did not name names, Dupriest clearly was referring to an '09 incident when former player Gilbert Arenas illegally brought a gun into the team's locker room. Much of the fan base has supported changing the team's name back to the moniker it took in '63 when the franchise moved from Chicago to Baltimore. The team changed its name to the Wizards in '97. "There's an appetite for Bullets marks. I think you'll see a lot more of that. You'll see people buy the merch," Dupriest said. "I don't see us changing the name to the Bullets. But I see us using the Bullets with the Wizards mark and using that history a lot more."