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FedEx calls on Redskins to change name following investors’ demands on sponsors

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Hey, it's at least football related...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/07/02/fedex-redskins-name-change/

July 2, 2020 at 5:58 p.m. CDT
FedEx on Thursday became the first major corporate backer of the Washington Redskins to call on the team to change its name, the most significant development yet amid mounting financial and political pressure on team owner Daniel Snyder in the long-running controversy. In a one-sentence statement issued Thursday afternoon, Memphis-based FedEx said, “We have communicated to the team in Washington our request that they change the team name.”
Even without elaboration from the company, the statement signals a dramatic pivot by one of the Redskins’ more loyal, long-standing corporate backers — a Fortune 100 company that for more than two decades has tied its brand to that of the team. The company’s request comes less than a week after a group of more than 85 investment firms and shareholders representing $620 billion in assets called on FedEx, Nike and PepsiCo to sever ties with the team unless Snyder changes its name.
And it represents another shift in a battle in which the terrain has shifted from moral appeals to business and political tactics during a period in which the country is reexamining statues, monuments, symbols and corporate names and logos that some Americans have never questioned but others long have considered a source of offense, insult or pain. If prominent Redskins sponsors feel sufficient pressure to dissociate from the team, Snyder’s bottom line would take a significant hit at the same time he faces political roadblocks in building a new stadium. FedEx, which ranks 47th on the 2020 Fortune 500 list, holds the naming rights to the team’s existing stadium in Landover, Md., through 2026 under a 27-year, $205 million deal signed in November 1999. Moreover, the company’s CEO, Frederick W. Smith, is a minority investor in the team, believed to have a 10 percent share.
The sponsors’ investors — whose assets are represented by First Peoples Worldwide, Oneida Nation Trust Enrollment Committee, Trillium Asset Management, Boston Common Asset Management, Boston Trust Walden, Mercy Investment Services and First Affirmative Financial Network — are not threatening to boycott or divest from the companies. Rather, their move represents a campaign to work from within those companies to pressure their respective CEOs to put pressure on Snyder. FedEx’s statement Thursday is the first public result. The investors are motivated by several factors, explained Carla Fredericks, director of First Peoples Worldwide and director of the University of Colorado Law School’s American Indian Law Clinic. The shareholders see the name as a racial slur, and they feel FedEx, Nike and PepsiCo have obligations to honor their stated corporate values of inclusion and diversity. Thus, they believe the value of their investments will suffer if the companies continue supporting an NFL team that doesn’t reflect those values. In other words, they are demanding the companies “walk the talk” of their stated values as they relate to the Washington team’s name. Jonas Kron, senior vice president of Trillium Asset Management, a leader in the socially responsible investing movement, pointed to Nike’s public support of former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, whose activism on issues of racial and social justice issues it celebrated through a major ad campaign.
“Nike made a very clear choice to support Colin Kaepernick and his protest,” Kron said in a telephone interview, “and angered a lot of people in doing that. But they decided, ‘This is where our market is, and this is the position we want to take as a company because of the values we stand for as a company.’ ” In their letter to Nike CEO and President John Donahoe, the shareholders highlighted the contradiction in outfitting Washington’s NFL team and producing and selling “apparel with the team’s racist name and logo.” The letter stated: “This association with and facilitation of the racism inherent in the name and logo runs contrary to the very sentiments expressed by the company.” The shareholders’ action, expressed in letters sent to the three companies last week, is one more example of an increasingly unfriendly business climate for Snyder, who has owned the Redskins since 1999 and has said that he will never change the name that he insists honors Native Americans and is a proud part of the franchise’s heritage.
In the view of Fredericks, it’s a widely accepted, historical fact that the name is a racial slur that originally referred to the bounty on the scalps of Native Americans. Whether the majority of Native Americans agree, she said, is immaterial. “That’s irrelevant to the investors’ push in the context of the larger social movement on racial justice,” Fredericks said. The Redskins’ name has been a source of controversy for decades. Opponents traditionally have appealed to Snyder to change the name for moral reasons. These latest efforts are aimed at convincing him that he must change the name to keep his NFL franchise solvent. On Wednesday, Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), the District’s nonvoting delegate to the House of Representatives; D.C. Deputy Mayor John Falcicchio; and Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, said in separate telephone interviews with The Washington Post that Snyder has no hope of building the team’s next stadium on the federally owned RFK campus unless and until he drops the Redskins name.
Snyder’s profit margin is already suffering. The team’s chronic poor performance has cost him dearly in unsold seats, a dwindling season ticket base and lagging luxury-suite sales. FedEx Field, which opened in 1997, is an increasing liability as well. Fan surveys give it consistently poor marks for the game-day experience. It is poorly served by public transportation. And home-field advantage for NFC East games has all but disappeared, with Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys fans buying up heavily discounted tickets to cheer for their teams.
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#1 · Jul 2, 6:53 PM
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And per Nike's website there are now 31 teams in the NFL.

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#2 · Jul 2, 8:31 PM
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Chief Zee. 

Born in Colquitt Ga (Da South!) Chief Z Williams was born a sharecropper and picked cotton as a youth.  

'Skins most recognizable fan.  A black sharecropper somehow becomes 'Skins most ardent fan. 
Kinda like Syd Davy? 

Chief Zee is dead now. RIP.  Coinciding with any sense of Americana?
LOL.  It's all over.    

But you are more "woke" now.  Got that, going for ya. 

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#3 · Jul 2, 10:42 PM
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Lol, the angst of change (progress) is never pretty...

Personally I think name Redskins is incredibly derogatory, its surprising to me it wasn't changed long ago. Then I remember the db who still owns the team. 

Fedex carries a big stick as does Pepsi and a # of other really big sponsors...We'll see if other corps weigh-in.  

The players and coaches may carry the biggest stick of all though. Haven't heard from them too much. 

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#4 · Jul 3, 6:37 AM
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The owner of fed ex is a minority owner of the Redskins, so how hard is he willing to push it?

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#5 · Jul 3, 9:43 AM
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@"purplefaithful" said: Lol, the angst of change (progress) is never pretty...

Personally I think name Redskins is incredibly derogatory, its surprising to me it wasn't changed long ago. Then I remember the db who still owns the team. 

Fedex carries a big stick as does Pepsi and a # of other really big sponsors...We'll see if other corps weigh-in.  

The players and coaches may carry the biggest stick of all though. Haven't heard from them too much. 


The term 'redskin' is about as racist as it gets. Whether the name gets changed, I have zero idea. But $$$$ talks and bullshit walks. 

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#6 · Jul 3, 9:50 AM
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Rename them the DC Hogs and be done with it.  It gets rid of the location confusion since most fans (myself when I was new) thought they were in Washington state.  It is also a callback to a franchise history anyways.

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#7 · Jul 3, 12:01 PM
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@"StickyBun" said:
@"purplefaithful" said: Lol, the angst of change (progress) is never pretty...

Personally I think name Redskins is incredibly derogatory, its surprising to me it wasn't changed long ago. Then I remember the db who still owns the team. 

Fedex carries a big stick as does Pepsi and a # of other really big sponsors...We'll see if other corps weigh-in.  

The players and coaches may carry the biggest stick of all though. Haven't heard from them too much. 


The term 'redskin' is about as racist as it gets. Whether the name gets changed, I have zero idea. But $$$$ talks and bullshit walks. 


Here's a simple question, since you know it's racist, where did the term originate?

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#8 · Jul 3, 2:35 PM
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How about the Washington Foreskins? It would be quite fitting for a town full of dicks...!  ;) B)  

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#9 · Jul 3, 6:26 PM
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WASHINGTON—Following an outpouring of criticism from across the country, the Washington Redskins announced Wednesday that they are officially changing the team’s name to the D.C. Redskins. 
“We’ve heard the concerns of many people who have been hurt or offended by the team’s previous name, and I’m happy to say we’ve now rectified the situation once and for all,” said franchise owner Dan Snyder, adding that “Washington Redskins” will be replaced with “D.C. Redskins” on all team logos, uniforms, and apparel.
“It was a difficult decision—and one that, frankly, I’m a little embarrassed took me so long to make. So hopefully we can now put this issue to bed and start cheering on our D.C. Redskins.” 
In light of Snyder’s decision, Cleveland Indians owner Larry Dolan told reporters he will change the feather in Chief Wahoo’s headdress from red to a “more appropriate” shade of red
https://sports.theonion.com/washington-redskins-change-their-name-to-the-d-c-redsk-1819575691

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#10 · Jul 3, 7:13 PM
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Being PC? Or a harbinger of whats to come?

===========================

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#11 · Jul 4, 9:17 AM
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Isn't this the free market correcting the issue?

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#12 · Jul 4, 10:50 AM
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The betting odds for new names: Indians vs Redskins

https://www.betonline.ag/sportsbook/futures-and-props/politics-props

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#13 · Jul 4, 11:47 AM
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Dan Snyder= Red McCombs

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#14 · Jul 4, 2:46 PM
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It's long overdue but since Snyder is a POS it's going to take money to get it done since he is only motivated by money.

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#15 · Jul 4, 3:23 PM
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@"El_Padre" said: Rename them the DC Hogs and be done with it.  It gets rid of the location confusion since most fans (myself when I was new) thought they were in Washington state.  It is also a callback to a franchise history anyways.


That and all the pork thay gets voted into bills. 

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#16 · Jul 5, 7:35 AM
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Redskins coach Ron Rivera says name change for 2020 season would be 'awesome'Even before a recent push by sponsors and investors for the Washington Redskins to change their nickname, new coach Ron Rivera says he and team owner Daniel Snyder were already discussing renaming the team.
In an interview with the Washington Post, Rivera said the change could happen within the next two months. 
“If we get it done in time for the season, it would be awesome,” he said Saturday
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/redskins/2020/07/05/redskins-name-change-ron-rivera-optimistic-team-change-nickname/5379898002/

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#17 · Jul 5, 6:11 PM
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I can't wait. So excited!!!

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#18 · Jul 5, 7:10 PM
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Report: Washington NFL franchise's three minority owners launching search to sell shares of teamThe three minority owners of Washington's NFL franchise are soliciting potential buyers for their shares of the team as a result of discontent with majority owner Daniel Snyder, according to The Washington Post, which cited multiple anonymous sources aware of the deliberations.
The news comes as the franchise announced Friday it will "undergo a thorough review" of their nickname, the Redskins. This comes amid backlash for the name's racial insensitivity during a time when Americans are advocating for human rights and social justice – sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minnesota on May 25 while in police custody. On Thursday, FedEx, the title sponsor of the team's stadium, formally asked the team to change its name, becoming the first major backer to call for action.
Businessmen Robert Rothman, Dwight Schar and Frederick W. Smith own a combined 40% of the team, and have collectively hired an investment banking firm to conduct a search for prospective buyers, The Postreports.
The three individuals are "not happy being a partner" with Snyder, one source told The Post. Snyder, who purchased the team in 1999, has been hellbent on keeping the team name, telling USA TODAY Sports in 2013: “We’ll never change the name. It’s that simple. NEVER — you can use caps.” 
Rothman is chairman and CEO of the investment company Black Diamond Capital. Schar is chairman of NVR Inc., the country's fifth-largest home builder, and Smith is chairman, president and CEO of FedEx.
In 1999, FedEx signed a 27-year, $205 million naming-rights deal for what is now known as FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2020/07/06/washington-redskins-nfl-teams-minority-owners-want-sell-shares/5382436002/

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#19 · Jul 6, 7:14 AM
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Not a bad deal for signing sponsorship with FedEx by Washington in 1999. U.S. Bank's deal with the Vikings is 25 years, $220 million. 

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#20 · Jul 6, 7:19 AM
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@"StickyBun" said: Not a bad deal for signing sponsorship with FedEx by Washington in 1999. U.S. Bank's deal with the Vikings is 25 years, $220 million. 
Underscores all the $$ involved with NFL and pro sports...Which is why these leagues/teams are fighting valiantly to have a season - even with all its imperfections and the risk of player, coach and staff infection. I guess its like the rest of the economy, you cant shut it down cold till (if) there is ever a vaccine:

The Sacramento Kings have reportedly closed their practice facility after a member of their traveling party tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic.Per that report, the practice facility "is not expected to reopen before the team departs for Orlando on Wednesday."
That news comes on the heels of the Milwaukee Bucks also choosing to shut down their practice facility earlier Sunday, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. The Denver Nuggets, Miami Heat, Los Angeles Clippers, Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns also shut down their practice facilities earlier this week, according to Marc Stein of the New York Times.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2899000-report-kings-close-facility-after-positive-covid-19-test-in-traveling-party?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial

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#21 · Jul 6, 7:23 AM
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