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The Washington Redskins And Cleveland Indians Are Finally Considering a Name Change

Diandra Ross

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.

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.

No matter what designs or logs are picked, there is no doubt that these franchises will be better off once they change their names.

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