New Commanders owners sticking with unpopular team nickname ‘for now’

The Washington Commanders’ team name isn’t popular among sports fans in the nation’s capital, but they’ll still have to call their local NFL team that name for the foreseeable future. 

Marjorie Harris, the wife of Commanders majority owner Josh Harris and Chair of the Washington Commanders Foundation, indicated that the team name will stick for the time being. 

“As you would imagine, everybody has an opinion about the name. Some good, some bad, some in the middle,” Marjorie Harris told reporters on Wednesday. “I think that we have a lot of work to do and so that name issue is going to be on the side for now until we can get things going. And I mean, quite frankly, I had a whole day out in the community and I kept referring to the team as the Commanders and — you know what? — it sounds pretty good to me. 

“So, for now, it’s the Commanders.”

The organization rebranded and switched its nickname to the Commanders in 2022 after years of controversy surrounding the previous name that many viewed as derogatory toward Native Americans.

But a recent Washington Post-Schar School poll found that fans aren’t thrilled with the new nickname. Fifty-four percent of sports fans in the Washington, D.C., area said they either “disliked” or “hated” the name. Among Commanders fans, 58% said they “disliked” or “hated” the team name. 

Even fewer fans want to see the Commanders keep their team name — just 16% in the poll. When asked what the name should switch to, “Washington Football Team” received the most votes, but only 17% of respondents picked that name. The organization was called the Washington Football Team in the two seasons (2020-21) before it became the Commanders. 

The new name has been unpopular since the team introduced it in February 2022. Forty-nine percent of D.C. residents “disliked” the name while another 15% “hated” it, a poll conducted by the Washington Post found shortly after the team’s rebranding was unveiled. 

Washington picked the name Commanders…


Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/new-commanders-owners-sticking-unpopular-team-nickname-for-now

Author :

Publish date : 2024-05-30 15:56:23

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Check Also

49ers will open practice window for star LB Dre Greenlaw, per Kyle Shanahan

Getty Images The San Francisco 49ers could be on the verge of getting one of …