FedEx has asked the Washington Redskins to officially change its name, long condemned as an anti-Indigenous slur.
The shipping company has communicated to the NFL team a request that it change its name, FedEx confirmed in a statement to NBC News on Thursday. FedEx owns the naming rights to the Maryland field where the NFL team plays and its chief executive, Fred Smith, owns a minority stake in the team.
FedEx’s request comes a day after Adweek reported that 87 investment firms and shareholders worth $620 billion sent a letter to the shipping company, Nike, and PepsiCo urging the companies to stop doing business with the team until the name is changed.
In 2017, the Supreme Court struck down part of a law that bans offensive trademarks, which helped get the Redskins’ trademark back in 2018. The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board previously cancelled the registration as offensive to American Indians.
As the country reevaluates systemic racial inequalities and reignites conversations on racism, sparked by the death of George Floyd while in police custody, many have called for the NFL team’s name to be left in the past.
Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said earlier this month on the Doc & Galdi show on The Team 980 that the name has been an obstacle in getting the city its own stadium.
“I think it’s past time for the team to deal with what offends so many people,” Bowser said. “And this is a great franchise with a great history that’s beloved in Washington and it deserves a name that reflects the affection that we’ve built for the team.”
Critics have also noted that the team profits off the use of the slur, with a team valuation of $3.4 billion, according to Forbes.
NPR reported in 2013 on the history of the term “redskin” and how it transformed into a derogatory reference for Native Americans. The term was initially used by Native Americans as a self-identifier during negotiations with the French, but morphed into a slur as non-Indigenous colonizers began to use it in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Dan Snyder, the team’s majority owner, told USA Today in 2013 that he would never change the name.
“We’ll never change the name,” Snyder said. “It’s that simple. NEVER — you can use caps.”
The Washington Redskins did not immediately respond to a request for comment via phone and email from NBC News.
