They’re going after the Washington Redskins again.
- FedEx is requesting a name change for the team that plays at FedEx Field. A day after a group of investment firms asked FedEx and other companies to stop doing business with the team unless it changes the team name, FedEx released a statement to multiple media outlets saying it has requested a name change. “We have communicated to the team in Washington our request that they change the team name,” the statement said.
- At Nike.com, there’s no sign of any merchandise bearing the name or logo of the Washington franchise. There’s more: The vertical drop-down menu on the left side of the site that comes up when searching for gear for any of the other NFL teams completely omits the Washington franchise. Last year, Nike omitted the team name from its annual Salute to Service collection. The more recent action sends a much stronger message.
If Snyder and the NFL are foolish enough to cave on this, it’s only a matter of time before the New England PATRIOTS and the Kansas City CHIEFS are targeted. And no amount of exegesis concerning what is and what is not a racial slur is going to prevent it.
At some point in time, people are going to grasp that giving any ground at all to these demoniacs is simply an invitation to subsequent attacks. There is always one, and only one, answer to give to corporate threats to pull support in order to force your compliance in anything: “fine, go away now.”