Nike pulls gear, FedEx asks for name change on same day as federal officials tell Dan Snyder to do the same
From WWW.CBSSPORTS.COM
If you search for "Redskins" on Nike.com, you will find that all official team gear has been removed from the store. If you go on Twitter or read any national news outlet, you will see that FedEx released a statement indicating that it had asked "the team in Washington" to change its name.
According to a report from AdWeek, Nike and FedEx were among a group of corporations (PepsiCo was also included) whose investors wrote to them requesting that they end their relationships with Washington unless the team changes its name. The letters to Nike, FedEx and PepsiCo were from 87 investment firms and shareholders worth a collective $620 billion. FedEx, for what it's worth, is the named sponsor of the field where Washington plays its games, and its CEO, Frederick Smith, is a part owner of the team.
As if that weren't enough for one day, Washington is now under more political pressure than ever to change its name. Having been a point of contention for a long time now with groups who think the term "redskin" is an offensive racial slur toward the Native American population, the topic has reached its boiling point in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by the Minneapolis Police Department -- the officers involved having since been fired and charged with second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree murder.
Subsequent protests have fueled changes that include the city removing the statue of George Preston Marshall, the founder of the organization and a staunch opponent of desegregation, from outside of RFK Stadium; in a move praised by Marshall's own granddaughter, Jordan Wright.
"I was glad to see it come down," said Wright, via the Washington Post. "It's past time to see it go."
Current team owner Dan Snyder went a step further in agreeing to remove Marshall's name from all official team material and from its Ring of Honor, but Snyder has thus far stood firm on his position of not changing the team's name. He may not have a choice any longer, however. That is, if he wants to relocate the team to the land where RFK Stadium currently sits.
That sizable parcel of real estate is owned by the federal government, 190 acres in all, and several elected officials have now served up an ultimatum t... (Read more)
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