The Big Lead

Washington's Name Change Press Release Used The Old Team Name Seven Times

By Stephen Douglas

Daniel Snyder, owner and graphic designer?
Daniel Snyder, owner and graphic designer? / Will Newton/Getty Images
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The NFL team in Washington announced this morning that it would be changing its longtime racist name. The news was made official in a brief announcement on the team's official @Redskins Twitter account. The word that they will not be using anymore appeared seven times in the release saying they weren't going to use it anymore. That includes the name and logo still appearing at the top of the press release.

The team also plays at Redskins Park on Redskins Park Drive. You can find more information on Redskins.com. Suffice to say, there's a lot to be done with the new branding decisions. And who will be heading this project? Daniel Snyder and head coach Ron Rivera. I don't know about you, but I adore the thought of Snyder and Rivera working together on photoshop mock-ups in a room with a whiteboard covered in possible new team names. A few weeks ago Rivera didn't think it was time to talk about a new name and Snyder was still refusing to address the possibility of a name change so I'm sure they have a lot to work with.

You would assume there would be someone in the marketing department who has at least put together a few suggestions over the last few years, but when you've got a coach who will probably be fired in two or three years, you've got to go with his gut. Then again, they are primarily in the football business and they still don't appear to have a replacement plan for Alex Smith, who suffered a career-threatening injury in November 2018. Snyder's team appears to change course as quickly as those cargo ships that collided in a canal over the weekend.

It's also fun to note the order in which the franchise put its priorities - sponsors, fans and community. Twice they listed those three groups in that order. It's clear that FedEx was the only group powerful enough to force Snyder to change the name. Hopefully, Snyder and Rivera can come up with a new name and logo that will continue to inspire the other brands to give Snyder money for the next 100 years.