The franchise was running out of time to get a new name and logo in place for the '20 seasonGETTY IMAGES
Daniel Snyder's franchise will play as the Washington Football Team during the '20 season, and while the club had "originally hoped to have a new name and logo in place by the start of the season," it realized a "total makeover in such a short time was not possible," according to sources cited by Carpenter & Maske of the WASHINGTON POST. Washington Exec VP & CMO Terry Bateman said a rebrand like this is a "12- to 18-month process if you want to do it right." Carpenter & Maske note Washington was "running out of time to get a new name and logo in place" for this season. What it "delivered instead was a recasting of the team's lettering, logo-less uniforms in the club's burgundy and gold color scheme with the word 'Washington' below the neck and helmets with players' jersey numbers on the sides." The team announced on July 3 that it was "undertaking a 'thorough review' of the name," and while Thursday's announcement "essentially ended the review ... it does not solve the long-term question of what the team will be called in the future" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/24). ESPN.com's Adam Schefter reported fans "will be able to purchase 'Washington Football Team' merchandise from Fanatics and NFL Shop in the coming days" (ESPN.com, 7/23). Coach Ron Rivera: “This is going to be a little bit of a transition. It’s not going to happen immediately.” He added, “We've got to change the culture … not just rebrand the name” (“CBS This Morning,” 7/24).
MOVING FORWARD: Washington in a statement said that it "plans for 'Redskins' to be officially retired by the team's season opener on Sept. 13." In DC, Matthew Paras cites a source as saying that the name change "will be for at least the rest of 2020." Over the next 50 days, Washington said it will "begin the process of retiring all Redskins branding from team properties whether it be FedExField, Redskins Park, other physical and digital spaces." For Thursday’s announcement, Washington "unveiled mocked-up images of players" like QB Dwayne Haskins and DE Ryan Kerrigan in the new uniforms. The team also "changed its Twitter handle from '@Redskins' to '@WashingtonNFL,' switching its profile photo to a gold 'W' with a burgundy background" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 7/24).
DESERVES SOME CREDIT: In DC, Jerry Brewer writes Snyder "made a prudent decision during what will go down as the most pivotal period in his last two decades owning the club." For the first time, Snyder "needs to earn some reward points from the public, and this may be a sign that he wants to be perceived as taking that challenge seriously." Brewer: "But let's not give him too strong a pat on the back. Doing the right thing and having a strategic approach shouldn't be as complicated as Snyder makes them" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/24).
STARTS AT THE TOP: In DC, Sally Jenkins wrote the franchise's "sleazy pimping bro culture was built over the past 20 years by Snyder's hand, and the enabling league damn well knows it." The commissioner's containment measures "have been launched, with the usual meaningless platitudes and expressions of faux concern." The league is here because it has "sheltered Snyder so many times already." With him, things "always get worse." The indication is that the league "won't discipline Snyder beyond a possible fine, much less force a sale, unless it finds he is 'implicated directly' in the scandal." But "of course he is directly implicated." Everything in the franchise "emanates from this bullying boor" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/23).
