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Despite the renewed pressure on Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder to change the team's nickname that many deem offensive to Native Americans, the D.C. owner “has no official plans to address the renewed call to change” the name, according to NFL reporter Josina Anderson, citing the fact that “no other owner has contributed more to the Native American community monetarily.”
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
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) July 3, 2020
Pressure has ramped up on the organization to find a new mascot for the long-time franchise after multiple sponsors advocated for a change. On Thursday, FedEx, who sponsors the team's stadium in Prince George's County, Maryland, formally requested that the team change its name.
“We have communicated to the team in Washington our request that they change the team name,” the shipping company said in a statement. Frederick Smith, the chairman and CEO of FedEx Corp. is a minority shareholder in the football team.
In addition to FedEx, multiple major sponsors, including Nike and PepsiCo, have been asked by investors to halt their affiliation with Snyder's team pending a name change. The three corporations each “received letters signed by 87 investment firms and shareholders worth a combined $620 billion” requesting a severing of ties with the D.C. franchise, Adweek reported.
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Nike has removed all Redskins gear from its online store.
In 2014, The Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin asked FedEx shareholders to reconsider their sponsorship, to no avail. Native American leaders are still calling on Snyder to change the name, which has been in use since 1933.
Snyder is still looking to move the franchise back to the D.C. area. But Eleanor Holmes Norton, the D.C.'s delegate to the House of Representatives, indicated that the team name needed to be altered for that to be approved.
