Five years ago was a historic day for Washington's NFL franchise
July 12, 2021, Washington Football Team President Jason Wright, who was responsible for the business side of the NFL franchise, announced that the NFL team would not consider "Warriors" as its next permanent name.
The previous July, the shocking news that the franchise was dropping the name "Redskins" floored many NFL fans across the nation. Most in the District, Maryland, and Virginia (DMV) were very upset with the decision, feeling betrayed by then-owner Daniel Snyder, who had once boldly proclaimed he would never change the name from "Redskins."
The 2020 and 2021 seasons were played under the name of the "Washington Football Team." A team being named the team? Yes, it was redundant, and yes, initially it was laughed at and mocked by more than a few sports commentators.
Wright disqualified the name "Warriors" and said the NFL team's new name would have "no ties to Native American imagery," following conversations with Native American leaders. How thorough were those conversations? Thinking people were left to ask, "If many Native Americans were not offended by 'Redskins,' why would they be offended by 'Warriors?'
If that wasn't enough, remember the new Washington Football Team policy that was announced that summer of 2021? The owner and president were going to show everyone who was boss so they proclaimed they would no longer allow fans to wear "Native American inspired" dress inside their home stadium, including headdresses and face paint.
Oh, that went over really well!
After all "Redskins" fans easily pointed to how the Kansas City Chief fans could wear headdresses and face paint and even engage in mindless war chants associated with Native Americans, keep their team name "Chiefs" but Washington fans were going to face the wrath of the gatekeepers preventing anything to do with their "Redskins" past.
What a summer it was five years ago for Washington fans.
But for now, we again have a winning team with excellent leadership, which makes it much easier to deal with than the inferior branding that we enjoyed for decades.
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