Last Friday, The NFL’s Washington Redskins issued a statement that said that, “in light of recent events in our country,” they would reconsider changing their team’s name. That same day, the MLB’s Cleveland Indians said that they would also consider changing their team’s name. Donald Trump went on Twitter on Monday to complain about both team’s stances, stating that they were pressured to make these decisions to maintain “political correctness.”
It is no secret why people are calling for these names to be changed. “Redskins” is a derogatory term and an ethnic slur used against Native Americans. There have been calls to change the team name since the 1970s, with many Native American groups protesting the name or outright suing the organization. The Cleveland Indians have since removed their racist caricature logo “Chief Wahoo,” but their name still stands.
Chief Wahoo was based off a racist caricature.
These organizations, as well as several other teams with names based on Native American culture, have been contested for years. Native American groups have argued that these team names make a mockery of their culture and that it’s past time that they be changed. Although the organizations haven’t officially decided to change names, they might be facing growing social and financial pressure. Washington Redskins memorabilia will no longer be sold at Target, Walmart or Dick’s Sporting Goods. Fedex (the company that sponsors the Redskins’ stadium), Nike and PepsiCo have also called for the name to be changed.
As the news broke that name changes would be considered, fans speculated what the new team names should be. There were rumors that the “Warriors” was a favorite among members of the Washington organization (though the name would compete with the NBA’s Golden State Warriors), with the alliteration of the “Washington Warriors” having a nice ring to it. “Pigskins” is also being considered, as it would allow the fans to keep the nickname “Skins.” Other names that have been thrown around include “Renegades,” “Redhawks,” “Redwolves,” “Red Jackets” and “Defenders.” One name that has received considerable traction on social media was “Redtails,” a reference to the planes used by the Tuskegee Airmen and the nation’s first African-American aerial combat unit. People argued that it would be appropriate to honor a unique military force with a team that played in the nation’s capital.
There was an abundance of concept art for potential logos, uniforms, and color schemes.
I’m all in now on the Skins name change to the Washington Redtails! Great way to honor an important part of our history at a crucial time and could preserve the colors, fight song(with a tweak or 2), and the httr moniker traditions that all Skins fans desperately want to save! pic.twitter.com/PUFmeQ97m0
— Cam Spence (@cam14578) July 6, 2020
In 2014 I thought it’d be the Washington Warriors.
My recent poll says so too.
But based on @NCAA team name changes away from Warriors over the last decade, & a way to differentiate from Golden State, I think @Redskins become #RedTails.
I’d bet @FedEx’s Fred Smith likes Red Tails https://t.co/0AbIUzVRTi pic.twitter.com/36ZpLjVhRQ— Tim Ogden (@tdogden) July 7, 2020
If the redskins change their name (which I hope they do), I hope they choose the Washington Redtails. An amazing way to do a 180 on their previous name and to honor the Tuskegee Airmen. I’m a sucker for WWII aircraft anyway. pic.twitter.com/6GNVx2BvMP
— Alex Osman (@alex_osman41) July 3, 2020
There have been several suggestions for a new team name for the Cleveland Indians as well, including the “Rockers,” “Crows, Blues,” and “Buckeyes,” but the name that seems to be the most popular among fans is the “Cleveland Spiders:. Spiders is a rare team name amongst all sports franchises and is also a reference to a short lived Cleveland franchise from the late 1800s.
Cleveland Spiders concept logo. Thoughts? #Indians pic.twitter.com/Lcyeuli7C7
— Zachary Martin (@TheClevelandRoo) July 4, 2020
We held a contest in 2017 to #ReDesignTheTribe, this Cleveland Spiders design by Ben Peters was the winner:https://t.co/qn5WnTASWD pic.twitter.com/kwvMNIs1px
— Cleveland Scene (@ClevelandScene) July 3, 2020
Cleveland spiders would look hard ngl pic.twitter.com/4g5P5g2y6r
— derek (@cloutlandish) July 3, 2020
No matter what designs or logs are picked, there is no doubt that these franchises will be better off once they change their names.
