Opinion, Sports

Time for a re-brand

After decades of controversy, dozens of protests and hundreds of op-eds in local, regional and national news outlets, it appears that the Washington Redskins may finally be seriously considering changing their name.

Last week, it was reported that major sponsors, including PepsiCo, Nike and FedEx, were putting pressure on the team’s majority owner Daniel Snyder to do away with the “Redskins” name, which has long come under fire for its cultural insensitivity, prompting Snyder’s people to craft a response in which they assured football fans—and shareholders—that they would seriously consider changing the team’s name following a lengthy internal review.

Last week, Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder announced his organization’s plans to explore a possible name-change. Sports Editor Mike Smith feels this move has less to do with social justice and more to do with the team’s bottom line.

As like most things in American life today, the name-change debate is tinged with political animus and has been nothing if not polarizing. But no matter where you stand on the impact of racial undertones in the name “Redskins,” there’s one re-brand I think we can all agree is off to a rocky start, and that’s the image of Daniel Snyder.

Since buying the Washington football franchise in 1999, Snyder has established himself as one of the most loathed owners in professional sports. If there was a checklist for becoming a cartoonishly diabolical sports villain, Snyder would fill out most, if not all, of the boxes. He’s been a litigation machine, suing both sportswriters who have criticized him in the local papers and season ticket holders who were unable to afford their seats during the 2008 recession. In 2017, he fired general manager Scot McCloughan after stirring up rumors of McCloughan’s alcoholism in the press as a justification for the dismissal. Heck, in 2004 he used his clout to broker a deal with the U.S. government that allowed him to chop down trees in a national park by his home in order to give him a better view of the Potomac River.

And like most “villainous” owners, he has continued to rake in money hand-over-fist, even as his franchise has been mostly mired in mediocrity for 20 years. He has been churlish, petty and vindictive; like George Steinbrenner without the charm—or the championships.

But more than that, Snyder’s tenure as Washington’s owner has been defined by his unwillingness to listen to those calling for the team’s name to be changed.

Prior to last week’s statement, Snyder was steadfast in his refusal to budge on a name change, telling USA Today that he would “NEVER”— in capital letters—rebrand the team. He declined to meet with Native American leaders to discuss a compromise, and enlisted sympathetic news outlets to conduct polls about the Redskin name, which—unsurprisingly—came out heavily in favor of keeping the name as is.

For decades, Snyder stuck to his guns, declaring that he wouldn’t change the team name out of principle. But guess what happened last week? All of his principles disappeared when faced with a hit to his bottom line. Snyder could weather a fan boycott here and there, but he wouldn’t be able to survive the pull-out of sponsors, especially when the upcoming football season is anything but guaranteed.

So he and his executives will likely mull over the change, come up with an alternative name—my money is on Red Tails—and unveil the new logo before the 2021 season hoping to bask in the PR of being a “woke” organization. But don’t let it fool you; he was dragged into the name-change kicking and screaming. He’ll still be the same defiant jerk he’s always been.

The Redskins might change their name, but a Snyder will never change his stripes.

Follow Mike on Twitter @LiveMike_Sports