The Washington Redskins have been widely regarded as one of the cornerstone franchises of the NFL and have recently been looking to change their identity. 

The team has been in the league since 1932 and has been representing the nation’s capital since 1937. Over the past 25 years, what once was a proud successful organization has turned into one of the most dysfunctional sports franchises in all of American sports. With only two playoff wins in the past 29 years, the on-field product has lacked, but even more humiliating are the numerous scandals that this organization has undergone with Owner Dan Snyder at the helm. 

Getting the team to a competitive state of play was one clear obstacle. More importantly, this organization needed to find a way out of the gutter and become a reputable representative of this great sports league. Part of their bad reputation has been due to their offensive team name “The Redskins.” 

Sports team’s names marginalizing groups of people no longer hold a place in society and must be replaced with more politically correct names that offer a better representation of the team and all they stand for. 

In July of 2020, the Washington Redskins announced that they were looking for a name change. At first, it was difficult to come to a decision on what Washington wanted to be called. Later that month, on the 23rd of July, they announced the name Washington Football Team as a placeholder until they would come up with the real name. 

On Feb. 2, the organization finally announced that they will now officially be called the Washington Commanders. Washington proved to be ahead of the curve as the Cleveland Indians of the MLB announced their name change to the Guardians in July 2021, roughly a year after Washington announced they were going to change their name. Though it is unclear how this new name will affect the performance of the squad, it is clear that there will be a brand new identity for the team that resides in Landover, Maryland.