Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has called out the Washington Redskins to make a change to their team name. During an appearance on The Team 980 & 95.9 FM, Bowser was asked about the Redskins’ name, which has been brought up in the past. With the Black Lives Matter movement happening across the country, Bowser believes now is the time for the Redskins to have a new name.
“I think it’s past time for the team to deal with what offends so many people, and this is a great franchise with a great history that’s beloved in Washington, and it deserves a name that reflects the affection that we’ve built for the team,” Bowser said. She also mentioned the name hurts the team when it comes to playing in D.C. in a new stadium. However, that’s not the only obstacle for the Redskins playing in D.C. “It’s an obstacle for us locally but is also an obstacle for the federal government who leases the land to us,” Bowser added.
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Bowser’s comments come weeks after New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez going to Twitter and telling the Redskins to change their name. Ocasio-Cortez responded to Washington’s Blackout Tuesday tweet and wrote: “Want to really stand for racial justice? Change your name.” The Redskins have heard the request for years, and they haven’t budged. Back in 2013, team owner Daniel Snyder said changing the name is not an option.
“We will never change the name of the team,” Snyder told USA Today at the time. “As a lifelong Redskins fan, and I think that the Redskins fans understand the great tradition and what it’s all about and what it means, so we feel pretty fortunate to be just working on next season.” Around that same time, then-President Barack Obama shared his thoughts on the name.
“If I were the owner of the team and I knew that there was a name of my team — even if it had a storied history — that was offending a sizeable group of people, I’d think about changing it,” Obama said to the Associated Press. The Redskins have had the name since 1937. If the team does change its name, its possible other organizations like the Kansas City Chiefs, Atlanta Braves and the Cleveland Indians will be pressured to do the same thing.
