People within NFL circles have privately said a change to the Redskins' name must occurGETTY IMAGES
The NFL is "amplifying messages to combat racial injustice," but this comes amid "calls that one of the game’s most prominent franchises employs a derogatory nickname for American Indians and an eyebrow-raising image on its logo," according to Radnofsky & Beaton of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. U.S. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) said, "One wonders if [Redskins Owner] Dan Snyder can hold out much longer, in the face of what looks as if it is a revolutionary change in what people will anymore tolerate." However, Radnofsky & Beaton write the team's branding is the "one issue nobody associated with the NFL is willing to speak publicly about these days." Also, the team’s "most prominent corporate sponsors -- FedEx, Bank of America, Bud Light and Pepsi -- didn’t comment when asked how they felt about associating their brands with the name in this climate." But "privately, people inside the game say the name change must occur, though they also continued to say it’s up to Snyder, who’s vowed never to change it." One high-ranking league exec said, "It needs to happen" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 6/24).
WILL HE OR WON'T HE? In DC, John Feinstein writes, "There are certain moments when a man has a chance to do something that will never be forgotten." Changing the Redskins' name would allow Snyder to "create some space between himself and the team’s first owner, proud racist and segregationist George Preston Marshall." That is why "now is exactly the right time for Snyder to step forward and announce he has had a change of heart." NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell should "let Snyder know, either privately or publicly, that this is the time for change" (WASHINGTON POST, 6/24). Also in DC, Thom Loverro notes, "Calls for a name change have the momentum of the moment behind them." But other moments "have come and gone, and the name has remained." Changing the name "would cost Snyder a portion of the dwindling core fan base he has left," and Snyder "can’t afford to lose them." The NFL is "likely not about to force an owner to make such a dramatic change that will cost him -- and them -- money" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 6/24).
