Washington Redskins Misspell London Fletcher's Name During Ring of Honor Ceremony

When linebacker London Fletcher joined the Washington Redskins in 2007, he kicked off a seven-year [...]

By John Newby

When linebacker London Fletcher joined the Washington Redskins in 2007, he kicked off a seven-year stint with the team in which he tallied more than 100 combined tackles each season, appeared in every game, and helped transform the defense. Unfortunately for the 16-year veteran and Super Bowl champion, this wasn't enough production to make the team learn to spell his name — at least, that's what the jumbotron showed on Monday night.

During halftime of the week three battle with the Chicago Bears, the Washington Redskins inducted Fletcher into the team's Ring of Honor. This was supposed to be a special ceremony for the fans, the linebacker, and the team, but there was one very unfortunate error. When Fletcher's name was shown on the jumbotron, it was misspelled. The screen said, "London Flecther."

The typo was purely an innocent mistake, but the fans and analysts alike still believe that it painted the Redskins in a truly terrible light. Instead of having the event focused on Fletcher and all of his achievements, the attention instead turned to how his name was spelled incorrectly.

Despite this obvious error on Monday night, there is no denying that the Redskins were overjoyed to have Fletcher as a member of the team. He was a very critical piece of this defense from 2007-2013 and quickly earned a reputation as one of the best linebackers in team history. As a four-time Pro Bowler (2009-2012), Fletcher quickly became the face of this defense, which only makes it far more upsetting for the Redskins fans to see his name misspelled at such a major moment.

For those that dislike the Redskins, however, this typo is only the latest in a long line of moments that prove the franchise is dysfunctional. This is a team that hasn't won a playoff game since 2005 and has been known for bad losses and the unfortunate injury of former second-overall pick Robert Griffin III.

Redskins president Bruce Allen even referred to Kirk Cousins as "Kurt" six different times in a two-minute press conference back in 2017. Cousins was the team's quarterback at the time and was amid tense contract negotiations. If the team struggled to remember the name of a multi-million dollar quarterback that has been the starter for three seasons, it's no surprise to many that the Redskins misspelled Fletcher's name.

Originally an undrafted free agent in 1998, Fletcher quickly made his name known as one of the most productive – and healthy – linebackers in NFL history. He played in 256 consecutive games throughout his career, starting 215, and never missed a game during his time with the Rams, the Bills, and the Redskins. This was a surprising feat for someone tasked with hitting other players on every single snap, but the ironman in Fletcher achieved it prior to his retirement in 2013.

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