Washington Football Team president eliminates one nickname for team rebrand in 2022

The Washington Football Team will have a new name in 2022, but one name is already off the table. Washington president Jason Wright announced on the team’s website that “Warriors” will not be considered as a team nickname and logo for the rebrand, as the franchise will remove “all ties to Native American imagery.” 

“This engagement demonstrated to us a consensus that moving forward with no ties to Native American imagery is the right path,” Wright said in a statement. “I am personally and deeply grateful for the Native American community leaders who engaged with us, sharing painful, raw and real stories that persist to this day. Their stories affirmed our decision to move in a new direction in the creation of our new name and identity, and we are proudly forging ahead in this journey with a promise to our community — a promise to continue to be inclusive in our process and collaborative with our fans.”

Washington reportedly narrowed its search to a handful of replacement names last year, and Warriors was one of the early favorites for the next nickname — along with Redtails, Redhawks and Americans. According to Wright, communities the organization engaged expressed “clear acknowledgment that Warriors too closely aligns with Native American themes.”

With the Warriors out of the equation, Washington is doing its part to eliminate all Native American ties for the next nickname. 

Please check the opt-in box to acknowledge that you would like to subscribe.

Thanks for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox.

Sorry! There was an error processing your subscription.

“We have 89 years of history in this league and failing to acknowledge our past use of Native imagery in the consideration of the new name wouldn’t be mindful of the individuals and communities that were hurt by the previous name,” Wright said. “We’ve made significant changes in our organization and our culture, and our new name must reflect these changes. To that end, we will choose an identity that unequivocally departs from any use of or approximate linkage to Native American imagery.

“I know this may be disappointing for some folks. But as I have said many times before, our new identity should unite us. It should bring us together the way this team comes together on the football field and the way we have seen our fans come together and proudly support our team and our DMV community.”