Washington Football Team shoots down 'Warriors' as a potential new nickname after dropping 'Redskins' as it 'too closely aligns with Native American themes'
Washington Football Team president Jason Wright announced Monday that one nickname the team won't be adopting in 2022 is the 'Warriors.'
Wright said that a new nickname and logo would be unveiled sometime early next year, according to the Washington Post. But with speculation swirling as to what the new nickname might be, Wright scratched Warriors off the list.
In a letter posted to the team's website, Wright wrote 'Warriors' is too close to the 'Redskins' moniker that the team ditched one year ago.
Washington Football Team president Jason Wright announced Monday that one nickname the team won't be adopting in 2022 is the 'Warriors'
The NFL franchise formerly known as the Redskins dropped their logo in 2020 and played as the Washington Football Team
'One might look at this name as a natural, and even harmless transition considering that it does not necessarily or specifically carry a negative connotation,' Wright wrote.
'Feedback from across communities we engaged clearly revealed deep-seated discomfort around Warriors, with the clear acknowledgment that it too closely aligns with Native American themes. Such an embrace of potentially Native-adjacent iconography and imagery would not represent a clear departure that many communities have so forcefully advocated for us to embrace, and that frankly, we set out to do when we started this process a year ago.
'To that end, we will choose an identity that unequivocally departs from any use of or approximate linkage to Native American imagery.'
The team will retain its gold and burgundy colors, Wright said in the Post story.
The team will compete as the Washington Football Team for the 2021 season.
The organization dropped the 87-year-old 'Redskins' in 2020, upsetting many longtime fans
Longtime Washington Redskins fan Carol Booth from Maryland takes a selfie in front of a Washington Redskins logo outside the Hall of Fame Store at FedEx Field
The organization dropped the 87-year-old 'Redskins' on July 13 as club minority owners, sponsors, and advocacy groups increased pressure against owner Dan Snyder.
Native American advocates and experts have long criticized the previous name, which they call a 'dictionary-defined racial slur.' Over a dozen Native leaders and organizations wrote to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in July demanding an immediate end to Washington's use of the name. Goodell, who had previously rejected calls for a name change, said he supported the review.
Protests against the name predate Snyder buying the team in 1999, and until 2020, he had shown no willingness to consider a change.
The team hasn't revealed any of the options being considered, but fans have frequently suggested RedTails, which is a nod to the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II. That name is currently registered to Martin McCaulay, a 61-year-old actuary from Alexandria, Virginia, who told DailyMail.com in July of 2020 that the club could have it for free.
Wright is entering his second year with the team after becoming the league's first African-American team president in August of 2020.
He previously played running back for the Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, and Arizona Cardinals before retiring in 2011 to earn his business degree from the University of Chicago.