Irene Pollin, the widow of former Wizards Owner Abe Pollin, “created the opening for the franchise to possibly return" to its former nickname of "Bullets," indicating recently that if Wizards fans "wanted the change, she wouldn’t have a problem with the decision,” according to Michael Lee of the WASHINGTON POST. When asked to respond earlier this month, current Wizards Owner Ted Leonsis “initially declined to comment,” but later issued a statement that “didn’t express his specific thoughts about the name Bullets and instead addressed the franchise’s re-brand.” Lee noted Abe Pollin “made the switch from Bullets to Wizards in 1997, partly because he didn’t want the team to be associated with gun violence.” But she “understands the deep connection and nostalgia that some fans feel for the Bullets name, especially since the franchise won a championship with that nickname in 1978.” Irene Pollin said, “If the fans want to change it back -- hey, why not? To me, it’s what do the fans want? What’s going to please them? To me, they’re the ones who support, care” (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 12/26).
LEAVE IT IN THE PAST: SPORTING NEWS’ David Steele wrote under the header, “As Wizards Build For Future, They Should Leave Bullets In The Past.” The team debuted their new "throwback" look against the Nets, which "captured exactly the tone the franchise … had wanted.” It was “time travel back to the good ol’ days of the Bullets, without a return of the actual Bullets.” The fans campaigning for the Bullets name “seems to be a minority, but an exceptionally loud one.” The nickname change “returned to the forefront” in December ’09 after an incident in the Verizon Center locker room involving then Wizards Gs Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton, who drew guns on one another over a gambling debt. Steele: “It also should stand as a reminder of why we can live just fine with ‘Wizards’ for now” (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 12/27).
