It's About Time Washington's NFL Team Has A New Name

The Washington Nationals, Washington Wizards, Washington Capitals, and DC Defenders.

Spending a large chunk of my childhood in the Washington D.C. area - Woodbridge, Virginia to be exact - I consider myself a 'fan' of all the teams that call the Washington D.C. area home. When John Wall was drafted by the Wizards it was a dream pairing in my mind. When the Capitals won the Stanley Cup a couple of seasons ago I wished so badly to be in the streets of D.C. celebrating with fans, cheering on the Metro. When the XFL announced that they would be bringing a team to D.C. I immediately bought a D.C. Defenders hat. And Howie Kendrick's home run in Game 7 off the foul pole in Houston is one of my favorite sports moments of all-time.

So while the Wizards may not be my favorite basketball team, and I may not be the biggest hockey follower, I will always root for teams in Washington D.C.

But notice, there is one team missing from that list. The NFL's Washington Redskins.

It's not because the Redskins have been awful on-field for what feels like the last 100 years - the Wizards have stunk for years and I watched a decade of bad Nationals teams before they finally won a Championship. Instead, I have been reluctant to cheer on a team that had what I viewed a racist nickname.

The name 'Redskins' isn't a right vs left argument. I come from a conservative family. I myself am a conservative, a son of Republican parents. But that never impacted the way that I viewed Washington's mascot.

Rather, I've just always had a gut feeling that something wasn't right about the name 'Redskins.' As a kid I would try to cheer on the team, but it didn't feel right. The name, the logo. Something seemed off. As I've grown older I understand why that was the case all those years ago. Simply put, the name is offensive to many Native Americans, and a mascot name shouldn't be an offensive term.

I was happy when Washington announced this morning that they would be retiring the team's name and logo, but there were many that were not. Hundred of people claimed online that they would no longer be a fan of the team because they would no longer be using the name 'Redskins.' Others ridiculed the team for giving into 'cancel culture.'

I understand, there are memories and emotions associated with the name. The team won three Super Bowls, 14 Division Championships and have made the Playoffs 24 times under the 'Redskins' name. Players like Joe Theismann, Sean Taylor and Darrell Green have all donned the burgundy and gold. Those memories carry a lot of weight amongst fans, I get it. If the Patriots, Celtics or Jazz changed their name I would be sad, as well. But a name change does not mean that these memories are meaningless and these former players and their accomplishments can't be celebrated.

Does Chris Paul's tenure in New Orleans mean nothing now that the Hornets are the Pelicans? Is the Marlin's World Series victory void now that they are the Miami Marlins instead of the Florida Marlins?

No.

You can hold memories dear and honor the players, coaches and teams that played years ago, all while recognizing why the team name needed to be changed.

I don't know what the new name will be - I'm a fan of the name 'Red Wolves' for what it's worth - but this I do know, I can't wait to buy a t-shirt or a hat with the new name and logo.