Hours after one of the Washington Redskins' major sponsors released a statement requesting the team to change its name, Nike appears to have scrubbed all Redskins gear from its website.
Searches for "Washington Redskins" or "Redskins" at Nike.com resulted in no results Thursday evening. The message on the page: "We could not find anything for 'redskins'."
The vertical drop-down menu on the site for NFL teams now lists only 31 teams, omitting the Redskins. (An inquiry for "Washington" resulted in options for the Wizards, Mystics, Nationals, and Washington State Cougars.)
The discovery of the change was noticed
hours after FedEx, which holds a lucrative naming-rights deal for the Redskins home stadium, said in a statement they have asked "the team in Washington" change its name.
So I just searched "Redskins" on Nike's site and... pic.twitter.com/7Jj3ENjF3V
— ᑎIᑕK ᗩᔕᕼOOᕼ -- (@NickAshooh)
July 3, 2020 Despite numerous assurances, he would never change the name, which many consider a racist slur, the pressure to drop the nickname may be mounting on Washington owner Daniel Snyder.
According to a
report by AdWeek, Nike and FedEx, along with PepsiCo, recently received letters signed by 87 investment firms and shareholders asking the brands to terminate their business relationships with the Washington franchise in an attempt to pressure Snyder to change the name of the team he bought in 1999.
"'Redskins' remains a de-humanizing word characterizing people by skin color and a racial slur with hateful connotations. Virtually every major national American Indian organization has denounced (the) use of Indian and Native related images, names and symbols disparaging or offending American Indian peoples," one of those letters read.
In a statement Friday, Nike said, "We are pleased to see the team taking a first step towards change.”
A statement from @Nike regarding the #Redskins likely name change: “We have been talking to the NFL and sharing our concerns regarding the name of the Washington team. We are pleased to see the team taking a first step towards change.”
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet)
July 3, 2020 NFL reporter Josina Anderson reported that as of Thursday night Snyder "has no official plans to address the renewed call to change" the team's name.
As of tonight I'm told Dan Snyder has no official plans to address the renewed call to change t/ Washington team name. While internally they say no other owner has contributed more to the Native American community monetarily &/w time pressure is rising for him to address publicly pic.twitter.com/HQd9CdIGAG
— IG: JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson)
July 3, 2020 Last season the name Redskins was left off the appeal company's gear for the NFL's "Salute to Service." The Redskins gear read "Washington Football," while the other teams' gear featured their respective nicknames.
When reached for comment about this, a Redskins team spokesperson
told The Washingtonian, “This would be a question for Nike. They issue all of the NFL team gear.”
The NFL appears to be phasing out "Redskins" from the team's official sideline gear. They're the only team without a nickname on the seasonal promoted gear on https://t.co/3Pg4fvksLL's "Salute to Service" and sideline merchandise. pic.twitter.com/VFz6ewk5sP
— Jake Russell (@_JakeRussell)
October 10, 2019 Nike renewed their contract to provide uniforms and sideline apparel for all 32 teams in the NFL in 2018, with the eight-year partnership running through 2028.
