The Washington Football Team is finally going to have a name that is not a racial slur or a name that a middle schooler would choose if they were forced to play Madden instead of Grand Theft Auto. Washington will unveil its new name and logo on February 2.
It might be a great PR day for Washington if the name change is done. It should be an easy PR win with new jerseys and helmets and a team name, but knowing this franchise a dark storm cloud of incompetence or malfeaseance will likely taint the occasion with embarrassment and controversy.
Washington was shamed after its 20-16 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. There is no shame in losing a close game to the Eagles, but the home stadium attacking the starting quarterback is a different story. The railing at FedEx field collapsed as Hurts was in the tunnel high-fiving Eagles fans.
FedEx Field is the worst stadium in the league. The design of the stadium is not good, the playing surface is terrible, and it is difficult to get to the stadium. The stadium was built in 1997. railings should not collapse and fans should not be drenched with water in a 25-year-old building. Washington should have stayed at RFK Stadium if this is the best they can do. The venue has character and is close to a train station, so the stop has the wordstadium in the name.
I hope the fans that took a tumble got some relief from the Hurts videos because they are saying the staff at FedEx Field didn't help them. Washington said in a statement that the fans that fell received medical attention. Several of the fans told Tim that they did not receive any medical attention.
The narrator of the video released today about the name change talks about tradition and says that the new uniforms and name must reflect the history and legacy of the franchise.
Washington is the only franchise in professional sports that needs to divorce itself faster than before.
The history of Washington's football team. The team used to force its players to wear war paint and perform stereotypical Native American dances because of its racist logo. The United States Executive Branch forced the franchise to integrate. The franchise has been in the public eye for sexual harassment allegations more than it has been for football games. Three Super Bowl wins with three different quarterbacks in eight years? The most recent title was won when people bought cassette tapes, records, and CDs of their favorite musician, MC Hammer.
There is no franchise in professional sports that needs to be in Washington for so long that it needs to be untangled from its past.
The franchise needs a new team name, logo, colors, stadium, new owner, headquarters, and an exorcist to take care of all of its legal issues. The only thing Washington needs to keep from its past is the three Super Bowls trophies and a life size picture of Doug Williams with a statement above it that reads, "Yeah we've been racist but we also had the only Black starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl for nearly half a century
Everything else from that organization needs to be thrown into the bay and that includes the man on a yacht.
Washington needs to put up a different sign than the one Notre Dame has in its stadium, and FedEX needs to put up a different sign.
