Washington officially announced its new team name on Wednesday morning, after in July 2020 when the quest began to replace the name. For the past, the franchise has gone by the “Washington Football Team” until today a new name was revealed “Washington Commanders”
In addition to the name change, the team also unveiled its new logo and uniforms.
The new name comes 18 months after the once-storied franchise dropped its old moniker following decades of criticism that it was offensive to American Indians.
Team president Jason Wright as he announced the new name on the Today show Wednesday morning, he said “It’s a name that has the weight and meaning befitting a 90-year-old franchise.”
“It’s something that broadly resonated with our fans,” he added, “and it’s something that we believe embodies the values of service and leadership that really define the DMV (the District, Maryland and Virginia) in this community.”
One legacy. One unified future.
We are the Washington Commanders #TakeCommand pic.twitter.com/Eav9NOV5Mm
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) February 2, 2022
“We’ll never change the name,” he said. “It’s that simple. NEVER — you can use caps.” Washington team owner Dan Snyder and a Redskin fan told once USA today the teams name will never change.
“As an organization, we are excited to rally and rise together as one under our new identity while paying homage to our local roots and what it means to represent the nation’s capital,” team owner Dan Snyder said in a statement. “As we kick-off our 90th season, it is important for our organization and fans to pay tribute to our past traditions, history, legacy and the greats that came before us. We continue to honor and represent the Burgundy & Gold while forging a pathway to a new era in Washington. Today may mark the first day for the Washington Commanders, but we are and always will be Washington.”
How the Name Change Started
The murder of George Floyd in the summer of 2020 in Minnesota that affected many aspects of life sounding the horn of equality. It moved many to raise their voices to promote inclusion and racial equality. Washington then felt pressured to change its team name. Since the name had raised criticism in the past. From there, Washington announced it would review its name. Then Snyder began to look into the possible change of name. And just 10 days later, the franchise officially retired the moniker.
Partners including FedEx, Nike, Target, Walmart and Amazon all pressured the franchise to change it’s name.