Former Washington owner Daniel Snyder once said he would never get rid of the team’s former name. In time he did.
Under new owner Josh Harris, the team said it would never bring back the abandoned name and logo. And the team continues to send inconsistent messages about whether it will eventually bring back the logo, if not the name.
in May we looked at mixed signals franchise posted, believing the team was testing the waters for the possibility of bringing back the logo, the name, or both.
Now AJ Perez of FrontOfficeSports.com reports that the team will use the old logo on alumni shirts celebrating players who played for the team before the name change in 2020. The apparel is set to go on sale later this month.
But a team spokesman tells Perez that “[t]There is no appetite within the Commanders organization to bring the former iconic ‘R’ with Native American imagery back as the team’s official logo, even as part of a rebranding.”
There may be “no appetite” now. But tastes change. Especially when, as with the graduate apparel, the team is rebooting a discarded recipe.
This appears to be part of a wider effort to release the logo back into circulation. First, it’s alumni merchandise. Then maybe it’s a throwback uniform. In time, who knows?
The logo was never a problem, per se. It was a word that over time became a dictionary-defined slur.
And let’s face it. The political winds have changed. Those who oppose the previous logo and/or name are dismissed as “woke”. Many see last month’s presidential election as a referendum on that ideology — which, by logical extension, will reverse many of the changes made four years ago.
The logo can be considered an acceptable compromise. The problem was again the name. Although baseball’s Cleveland Indians became the Guardians, the Chiefs continue to thrive without complaint when it comes to the name of the tomahawk chop war chant.
Times are changing. Appetite changes. Ultimately, every professional sports franchise hopes to maximize revenue. From a purely commercial point of view, the return of the old logo could create a net financial gain for the commanders
Then there’s the fact that Snyder is gone. This opens the door for tinkering with the old logo. Graduate gear represents the latest step.
Make no mistake about it. If the merchandise sells well and the PR impact is minimal, the team will continue to change the tone regarding the old logo.
Just as Snyder eats his words about the team’s former name, Harris is likely to change course on the former logo. The only question is, how long will it take?
It all depends on how the introduction of the old logo for alumni merchandise is received.