A group of Native Americans has threatened the National Football League (NFL) if it does not change the name of the Washington Commanders back to the Washington Redskins, according to The Daily Wire. The football team changed its name in 2020 and flirted with several other options before settling on the Commanders.
It was reportedly believed that the reason for the change had to do with some people being “offended” at “redskins,” which was accompanied by an Indian head logo. But it was that large corporations, such as FedEx, Nike, Pepsi, and Bank of America threatened to pull their money out of the franchise if the 87-year-old name was not changed. FedEx threatened to pull over $200 million.
But as it turned out, a Washington Post poll found that nine in 10 Americans were not offended by the name. Apparently, that includes the Native American Guardians Association (NAGA), which took to Twitter to inform people that they sent a letter to the football team requesting that the name be changed back lest they go through with a national boycott.
🚨BREAKING: Native American Guardian’s Association Founder & President Eunice Davidson Sent a Demand Letter Today to Washington "Commanders" Ownership & Key Leadership Formally Requesting The Team Revitalize it's Relationship With The American Indian Community & Rightfully Change… pic.twitter.com/cpau4hVq6H
— Native American Guardians Association (@GuardiansNative) August 7, 2023
The letter described what it called “cancel culture” against the Native American community, which includes erasing its history and the role it played in advising the “Founding Fathers in the creation of the U.S. Constitution. The letter then talked about the relationship between the football team and the Native American community dating back to 1933 when the team was named the “Boston Redskins.”
The letter called for a revitalization of that history and threatened a national boycott similar to the one against Anheuser Busch’s Bud Light, which it noted was down $27 billion to date.
Despite most Americans not being offended at the original name, officials in D.C. reportedly said that the team cannot be relocated there unless it changes its name.
