The new owners of the Washington Commanders have made a decision regarding the team’s highly unpopular nickname.
Their solution? Kick the can down the road for now.
Fans will be disappointed to hear that Marjorie Harris, the Chair of the Washington Commanders Foundation and wife of majority owner Josh Harris, says the team has decided to stick with the name.
Or, at least, that it’s just not a top priority for them at the moment.
“As you would imagine, everybody has an opinion about the name. Some good, some bad, some in the middle,” she told reporters on Wednesday. “I think that we have a lot of work to do and so that name issue is going to be on the side for now until we can get things going.”
Marjorie Harris on the team name: “I had a whole day out in the community and I kept referring to the team as the Commanders… it sounds pretty good to me… for now, it's the Commanders"pic.twitter.com/PtY8pUtpvT
— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) May 29, 2024
RELATED: Dan Quinn Forces Commanders To Issue ‘No Comment’ After Wearing T-Shirt With Controversial Logo
Fans Don’t Like The Commanders Nickname
One has to appreciate Harris’s effort to be political in her response. But suggesting ‘some’ people like the name and ‘some’ people don’t creates an impression of equality.
Polling suggests that while ‘some’ people like the Commanders nickname, most definitely do not. They’ve had two years to allow it to sink in and the fans just aren’t down with it.
According to the Washington Post, 58 percent of the team’s fans either dislike or hate the name. Just 16 percent want them to keep the name, with the vast majority of them wanting yet another rebrand.
Of those who want the nickname changed, 17% would “prefer a change back” to the Washington Football Team.
Harris though, seems to like it, indicating that just one day out in the community caused her to come around on the nickname.
“And I mean, quite frankly, I had a whole day out in the community and I kept referring to the team as the Commanders and — you know what? — it sounds pretty good to me,” she said.
“So, for now, it’s the Commanders.”
RELATED: Former Commanders DE Montez Sweat Says Changing Team Name From Redskins Was Embarrassing
Former Players Says Name Was Embarrassing
Perhaps the polling is an indicator of why fans were so excited and enamored with the fact that head coach Dan Quinn earlier this month was sporting a t-shirt that featured the current team logo mixed in with parts of the old logo referencing their previous name.
In response, the team was forced to offer “no organizational comment” about the shirt while indicating there are no plans for the team to bring back their old name or logo.
Montez Sweat, a defensive end for the Chicago Bears and former player for Washington, said the team’s transformation from the Redskins to the Commanders was embarrassing.
“I got drafted as a Redskin,” Sweat said. “Then I was a Football Team. And then I was a Commander I don’t know – I think I’m missing one.”
“I was so embarrassed,” he added. “I was so embarrassed. So when people asked who I played for, I was like ‘Washington.’”
It seems like the only one the Commanders nickname is growing on is Harris.
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