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Jonathan Newton

Eighteen months after <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/07/13/redskins-change-name-announcement/">dropping its longtime name</a>, the Redskins, and beginning an extensive search for a new one, Washington’s NFL team revealed Wednesday that it will be the Commanders, a tribute to Washington’s military ties.

The announcement was made live on NBC’s “Today” show and on social media and was followed with a media event at FedEx Field with owners Daniel and Tanya Snyder and team president Jason Wright. The much-anticipated announcement finally closes the team’s 87-year chapter as the Redskins and marks the start of a new era — at least aesthetically, with the hope Commanders both resonates with fans and reflects the makeup of the Washington area, home to the Pentagon and bases for every branch of the military.

What's your reaction to Washington's name change? We want to hear from you.

“Today’s a big day for our team, our fans, a day on which we embark on a new chapter as the Washington Commanders,” Daniel Snyder said. “It’s been a long journey to get to this point. We’ve been grateful to everyone who’s been a part of this process along the way.”

For decades, dating back to the early 1970s, Washington received criticism and even drew protests over its name, which many deemed derogatory toward Native Americans. Snyder, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/redskins/daily/may99/26/skinsbid26.htm">who purchased the team in 1999</a> after growing up a fan of the franchise, vowed he would never change the name. But that changed in 2020, when the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/10/12/george-floyd-america/?itid=lk_inline_manual_6&itid=lk_interstitial_manual_15">murder of George Floyd</a> sparked protests worldwide and led to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/race-america/?hp_top_nav_race%20&%20reckoning">a national discussion</a> about racial equality. The <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/07/02/fedex-redskins-name-change/">club’s top sponsors</a>, including FedEx, Pepsi Co. and Nike, vowed to pull the plug on their agreements, and elected officials in D.C. warned that the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/07/01/unless-daniel-snyder-changes-redskins-name-rfk-site-is-off-table-officials-say/">team could never return</a> to the District unless it got a new name.

An all-Native American NFL team was founded 100 years ago — to promote a dog kennel

As the pressure mounted, the team announced in July 2020 that it would retire the controversial name and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/07/23/washington-redskins-new-team-name-washington-football-team/">adopted the Washington Football Team</a> as a temporary moniker while it began to seek out a new identity. The Commanders name had been the subject of much online speculation in recent weeks. After years of futility on the field and no shortage of controversy away from it, the team hopes fans warm up to a rebranded franchise with familiar colors but a fresh outlook.

Wright, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/08/17/jason-wright-hired-president-washington-football-team/">who was hired a month</a> after Washington shed its old name, helped lead a search and remained the face of the initiative, appearing in promotional videos and writing letters to fans on the team’s website.

“So many of you have advised me, and the folks leading this organization, on how to steward that legacy well,” Wright said. “How to treat our fans with the dignity and respect they deserve, and to cultivate those bonds that y’all built with them. And so I’m really grateful to all of you for that.”

<i>Continue reading for real-time updates and reaction surrounding Wednesday’s announcement.</i>

The Washington Commanders: Locals sound off on new name

Washington’s NFL team unveiled its <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/02/02/washington-football-team-new-name/?itid=hp-top-table-main&itid=lk_inline_manual_2&itid=lk_inline_manual_19">new name, logo and look Wednesday</a>, a new chapter for a franchise seeking to commemorate its rich history while also embracing its future.

Here’s what you need to know about each element.

Washington Commanders new logo mark 2

The team opted for what it calls a “powerful ‘W’” for its primary logo, the one that will appear on helmets and will surely be the most visible aspect of the franchise’s new identity.

By showcasing the “W,” the team is emphasizing its roots in the Washington region. It plays its home games in Maryland and is headquartered in Virginia, but it saw most of its success in the District.

The angled cuts and serifs at the top of the “W” are intended to depict progress and forward movement.

The logo gives a nod to the military with slanted stripes the team says are inspired by military rank insignia.

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/02/02/washington-commanders-logo-uniforms/?itid=lk_inline_manual_27" target=_blank>Read the full story</a>

Sean Cissel, who grew up in Prince George’s County but now teaches in San Diego, said he grew up a die-hard Washington fan, especially after the team won three Super Bowls by the time he was in eighth grade. But Cissel, 42, said his fandom has waned over the years, especially since Daniel Snyder took over as owner, and he doesn’t think the games are even worth his time on Sundays.

“I can’t even force myself to watch games half the time,” Cissel said Wednesday. “Which is something I would’ve never anticipated ever in my life, but it’s just gotten to be too much, I guess."

Washington’s new name probably won’t get Cissel back on his couch more consistently; he said he would’ve been most happy if there was no name change at all, and he thinks that the Commanders name is bad, although he said he could possibly get used it.

“I don’t think the Commanders is a particularly good name,” Cissel said. “I don’t think it shows a lot of imagination.”

Cissel said he might start tuning back in if the team starts winning games and Snyder is no longer the owner, a sentiment he believes he shares with a lot fans. But until then, he’ll continue to keep himself distanced emotionally from the team.

“Just anything that Snyder touches, I think, for a lot of fans like me, is going to be automatically a loser," Cissel said.

Andrew Golden

wft name change

Joe Theismann says he wants fans to give the new Commanders team name a chance. And no, he insists, he did not know it — or reveal it — ahead of time.

“No, I didn’t,” the team’s former quarterback said in a phone interview Wednesday. “That’s the thing. Even though I made the comments, I had no idea. And believe me, I asked. Nobody told me. I had no inside information. It’s hard to be a leak when you don’t know.”

Some had “credited” Theismann with revealing the choice of Commanders in a radio interview this week.

Theismann said he hopes that the public takes some time to adjust to the new name before passing judgment.

“I tell everyone to give it a chance and let it seep in a bit,” Theismann said. “Don’t just say you don’t like it because of the newness. It embodies everything the DMV is about. And the uniforms are really cool. They really are.”

“It made sense,” he said. “I think it makes sense for the military aspects. It’s about leadership, strength, vision. Those are the things that this franchise wants to be about moving forward.”

Former standout running back and kick returner Brian Mitchell also expressed approval.

“I’m cool with it,” Mitchell said via text message. “I have no problem with it.”

Mark Maske

After the Washington Commanders announced their rebrand Wednesday, two members of the Native American community, Crystal Echo Hawk (Pawnee) and Merlin Lucero (Laguna Pueblo), shared a sense of dissatisfaction.

Echo Hawk and Lucero look at the team through different lenses — Echo Hawk as a longtime activist who pushed the team to change its original name, Lucero as a lifelong fan who has found a way to buy <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/02/01/washington-football-team-collectibles-rebrand/?itid=lk_inline_manual_48" target=_blank>more gear with the old logo</a> — but each was left wanting more.

Echo Hawk wanted an apology. She emphasized adopting a name with no Native American ties was a significant step, and she noted it’s important to remember that decades of protest and Native-led organizing helped lead to the summer of 2020, when owner Daniel Snyder was forced to admit “NEVER” changing the name didn’t really mean never.

But she said the team still bears responsibility for the harm it caused Native Americans by holding onto a dictionary-defined slur for 87 years. She said the team should commit resources to helping Natives and educating people about the challenges their communities face.

“I'm so happy that today marks a new chapter going forward, but we can't disregard that harm, that past, that harm that really still is fresh in the mind of so many different Native peoples all across this country who fought for this name change,” she said.

When asked how much hope she had the team would take any of those steps, she laughed.

“I think we’re going to keep pushing,” she said, adding, “People are going to continue to hold them accountable.”

Lucero, 49, grew up on a reservation in New Mexico and loved the team’s original mascot. The Native American profile seemed like a symbol of strength in the era of John Wayne movies, which he felt portrayed Natives in an inaccurate, cartoonish light. He lamented the team had to change the mascot, but he liked some other replacement options, including Redwolves.

“Two years of waiting for Commanders is pretty disappointing,” he said. “Man, it doesn’t pop. It’s not original. It’s just eh, I guess.”

Sam Fortier

Linda Thomas, who lives in Seattle but grew up in the District, told The Washington Post she regularly roots for both the Seattle Seahawks and Washington’s team. Thomas, 64, relocated to Washington state shortly after graduating from Howard University with a degree in chemical engineering. Whenever she is watching the Seahawks play her hometown squad, Thomas says she’s quick to tell her friends, “Well, a team from Washington is going to win today.”

Regarding the team’s new name, the Commanders, Thomas said “it doesn’t bother me,” but she was hoping Washington would pick an animal for a mascot — such as the Red Wolves or the Hogs. Thomas said she is currently binge-watching “A Handmaid’s Tale,” a show on Hulu set in a dystopian future, and noted that there are characters in the show called commanders as well.

“When you do a name change, you really have to think about modern culture,” Thomas added.

There’s still a chance for the team to have a four-legged mascot. President Biden’s new puppy is <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/12/21/1066220864/commander-biden-puppy-major">a German shepherd named Commander</a>, Thomas noted. But, regardless, Thomas plans to support the team through the name change.

Thomas remembers playing clarinet at a Washington halftime show with the McKinley Tech marching band when the team faced the Detroit Lions in 1973. RFK was “a banging stadium,” Thomas said. And she misses it fondly.

“All I can think of is great experiences there,” Thomas added.

Teddy Amenabar

The Washington Football Team finally has a new name. Now will it get a new home?

Local politicians wasted little time sharing their opinions Wednesday morning about where the Washington Commanders should play after the new name and the team’s burgundy, black and gold uniforms and helmets were unveiled.

The rebranding also represents a new era in the complicated relationship with team co-owner Daniel Snyder, who has <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/daniel-snyder-wants-legalized-gambling-at-a-future-redskins-stadium-in-maryland/2020/01/21/7104b0ee-3ca9-11ea-8872-5df698785a4e_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_5&itid=lk_inline_manual_68">openly pitted</a> Virginia, D.C. and Maryland against each other as he seeks a new stadium deal.

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/02/02/washington-commanders-stadium-football-politics/?itid=lk_inline_manual_69" target=_blank>Read the full story</a>

Joe Heim

Erin Cox

Laura Vozzella

After a lengthy buildup to the unveiling of Washington’s new nickname, the televised announcement itself was brief and subdued — and scooped by the team’s own social media account.

The team will henceforth be known as the Commanders, team officials told NBC’s Craig Melvin, a member of the team’s “fan ambassador network,” in a “Today” show appearance shortly after 8:15 a.m., minutes after the team posted an announcement on Twitter.

“We are the Commanders,” senior adviser Doug Williams said in making the announcement.

There was little pomp or fanfare to the official reveal, perhaps because the nickname had been leaked Tuesday night when local news helicopters flew above FedEx Field and captured footage of “Commanders” signage already staged for the Wednesday unveiling.

And over the past few weeks, speculation focused on Commanders, with one tweet going viral for pointing out the <a href="http://commanders.com/">Commanders.com</a> domain recently changed hands. Former quarterback Joe Theismann seemed to suggest Commanders was the new name during an appearance Monday on CBS Sports Radio.

“I think Commanders is a name that is going to be hopefully one that people talk about going forward,” he said, adding, “There were so many different options, but once again, it’s trademark infringement, it’s getting approval from different people …”

Last fall, Commanders was one of the eight names misreported to be finalists, and it picked up steam in early January when, in a promotional video, a mock-up of the Commanders logo was shown on Wright’s armchair.

Cindy  Boren

Upon his hiring as the 30th coach of Washington’s NFL franchise, Ron Rivera said that <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/06/30/ron-rivera-says-redskins-name-debate-is-discussion-another-time/?itid=lk_inline_manual_2&itid=lk_inline_manual_81">he hadn’t a problem with the team’s racist name</a>, which his boss, Daniel Snyder, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dc-sports-bog/wp/2013/05/10/dan-snyder-well-never-change-the-name/?itid=lk_inline_manual_2&itid=lk_inline_manual_81">had already declared he would never change</a>. Rivera even <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/04/24/about-redskins-painting-american-flag-ron-riveras-basement/?itid=lk_inline_manual_2&itid=lk_inline_manual_81">commissioned a piece of art for his new digs</a> — a copy of a portrait painted by the team’s director of player development, featuring the logo of the team Rivera had just inherited. It showed the profile of a bronze-skinned Native-American man <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2002/01/26/american-indians-among-admirers-of-redskins-name/3d8cdc92-4e5a-4e75-86fc-a10a486eaee3/?itid=lk_inline_manual_2&itid=lk_inline_manual_81">of someone’s creation</a>, a logo that debuted on the team’s helmets 50 years ago, just as a delegation of Native Americans <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/sports/dc-sports-bog/2020/07/13/amp-stories/timeline-redskins-name-change-debate/?itid=lk_inline_manual_2&itid=lk_inline_manual_81">met with then-franchise president Edward Bennett Williams</a> to request he change the team’s name from what they explained <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dc-sports-bog/wp/2014/06/03/the-great-redskins-name-debate-of-1972/?itid=lk_inline_manual_2&itid=lk_inline_manual_81">was a “derogatory racial epithet.”</a>

But in the summer of 2020, with the country roiling in protests against White supremacy in the wake of the police murder of George Floyd, and the sponsor of the team’s stadium, FedEx, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/07/02/fedex-redskins-name-change/?itid=lk_inline_manual_3&itid=lk_inline_manual_82">calling on the club</a> to drop the offensive name, Rivera expressed enlightenment. Not only was it time to change the name, Rivera said, but a new one paying homage to the military <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/07/04/ron-rivera-redskins-name/?itid=lk_inline_manual_3&itid=lk_inline_manual_82">would be most appropriate</a>.

The military? It made perfect sense to me. But not because Rivera was the son of a 32-year Army man and grew up on military bases <a href="https://www.legion.org/news/230948/ron-rivera-military-way-life">overseas and in this area</a> before settling in Monterey, Calif. Nor because the home of this football team is the seat of this country’s armed forces, with the Pentagon just across the river in Virginia.

Instead, it was because the military, its patriotic pomp and circumstance, is so unassailable in so many people’s eyes that it could be seen as the ultimate deodorizer for a franchise that has been rolling on one scent after another in recent years to mask its growing stench.

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/02/02/military-washington-commanders/?itid=lk_inline_manual_85" target=_blank>Read the full story</a>

Kevin Blackistone

Jeff Jacobs, who lives in Northwest Washington, has been a fan of Washington’s NFL team since he moved to the area in the 1980s for a career in public health. Jacobs, 64, was sitting in the stands at RFK Stadium when Washington quarterback Joe Theismann broke his leg after he was hit by Lawrence Taylor of the New York Giants in 1985.

“You could hear it,” he said. “You could almost hear the bone break. It was just a horrific moment.”

Jacobs said he supported Washington’s decision to lose its old name, though he didn’t love any of the alternative names that have floated around during this 18-month rebranding process. He wasn’t even a fan of the Washington Commanders originally. But now that the new name has been announced, Jacobs is more excited. He says Commanders “represents a winning name,” something the team needs desperately. “We’re a losing team with an abysmal culture,” Jacobs said. “I think it’s a great name to try to live up to.”

Jacobs is optimistic that Coach Ron Rivera is “turning it around a bit.” And he’s hopeful that the team will eventually move back to Washington, replacing the old RFK Stadium.

“We suffer through watching the team lose most games,” Jacobs said. “I like the rebrand. I didn’t think I would. But the team has to win. That’s the bottom line.”

Wednesday’s announcement capped <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/02/02/washington-commanders-name/?itid=lk_inline_manual_93" target=_blank>an 18-month-long rebranding process</a> and marked the culmination of the decades-long controversy that surrounded the team’s former name. Here’s an interactive look at how the Redskins, after years of resistance, became the Commanders:

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/sports/dc-sports-bog/2020/07/13/amp-stories/timeline-redskins-name-change-debate/?itid=lk_inline_manual_94" target=_blank>Read the full story</a>

Scott Allen

Early reaction in Richmond, where the General Assembly is <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/01/21/washington-football-stadium-virginia-bills/?itid=lk_inline_manual_96" target=_blank>considering a pair of bills</a> intended to lure the team to Virginia, was muted at best.

“The new name is fine, but I also liked the other one,” said Senate Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax), who is carrying legislation that would create a football stadium authority to oversee the financing and construction of a massive retail and entertainment development anchored by an NFL stadium.

“I can learn to love it,” texted Del. Lamont Bagby (D-Henrico), head of the Legislative Black Caucus, who’s been supportive of the stadium bills. “Love the uniforms tho.”

Del. Mark Keam (D-Fairfax) was with those poking fun, <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkKeam/status/1488878248817840130?s=20&t=hL2xbOSQ9Woan6OYJWIMuw" target=_blank>tweeting</a>: “On this #GroundHogDay, Punxsutawney Phil predicts 6 more weeks of public ridicule over this new name.”

Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), who’d given the stadium legislation a shout-out in his formal address to the General Assembly last month, had been mum on Twitter since late Tuesday night, when he’d wished Virginians a “Happy Lunar New Year!” His office did not immediately respond to a request for his take on the name.

Many saw the name change in the context of a potential move to Virginia.

“The Washington Commies name is fitting given how much Virginia taxpayer money they’re gonna burn on building a new garbage stadium in VA,” <a href="https://twitter.com/DannyPlaugher/status/1488879937008377863?s=20&t=XjzX4ZZAVMZdpedWiukDJQ" target=_blank>tweeted</a> Danny Plaugher, executive director of Virginians for High Speed Rail.

Coming to the team’s defense was former Republican delegate David Ramadan, who as a Loudoun County legislator co-founded the legislature’s Redskins Pride Caucus in 2014, supporting the team’s right to use the name after the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office canceled the team’s registration on grounds that it was disparaging.

“We were proud of the team then, and I am proud of the team today. I look for them to command the field,” Ramadan said. “I’m looking forward to their changing their name one more time, though — to the Commonwealth Commanders.

Several Maryland politicians embraced the new name primarily because it was not a racial slur.

“It’s totally fine. It’s a good, strong name,” said Del. Ben Barnes (D-Prince George’s), who represents the county home to FedEx Field.

“I don’t think the names of these teams matter that much, as long as they’re not offensive. As soon as they start winning, people will rally around the team,” Barnes said.

The rebranding also represents a new era in the complicated relationship with team co-owner Daniel Snyder, who has <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/daniel-snyder-wants-legalized-gambling-at-a-future-redskins-stadium-in-maryland/2020/01/21/7104b0ee-3ca9-11ea-8872-5df698785a4e_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_109">openly pitted</a> Virginia, D.C. and Maryland against each other as he seeks a new stadium deal.

“We look forward to the start of this new chapter in the team’s storied history,” Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said <a href="https://twitter.com/GovLarryHogan/status/1488878653274423296">on Twitter</a>, directing his congratulations to team president Jason Wright.

House Majority Whip Talmadge Branch (D-Baltimore City), who is Black and also of Native American descent, once introduced legislation attempting to force the team to drop its previous name. Wednesday represented a day he never thought he’d see, he said.

“Of course, I never thought they would change it. But times have moved forward,” he said.

“This will make numerous people happy, and it will also will make numerous people sad,” he said, adding he thought that fans who grew up with the name and never saw it as offensive felt they have lost something important to them.

The Commanders name, Branch said, had little bearing on whether he and many other lawmakers would now more aggressively try to keep the team’s stadium in Maryland.

“We have a team that we love, which is, of course, The Ravens,” he said. “I’m not looking for two teams.”

Washington Commanders co-owner Tanya Snyder cut the gold ribbon outside the team store at FedEx Field on Wednesday, and she had a surprise for the fans who anxiously waited in line: Each fan in line would get one free piece of merchandise courtesy of the Snyders.

The team had shirts, sweatshirts and hats among other items to sell, but it didn’t have any new jerseys available yet.

As fans filed out with their shirts and hats, many seemed hopeful about the future and the direction of the team. Jesus Boada, 21, said he cares more about winning than he does about the name change. He brought his son out to buy some merchandise before taking him to school. 

“We’ve been waiting for this day for a long time,” Boada said. “We wanted to get some jerseys. They don’t have anything. But we were excited, happy about it. So hopefully we have a winning team coming up.”

Washington Commanders Coach Ron Rivera appeared Wednesday on “CBS Mornings” to talk about the team’s new nickname.

“We had gotten over 30,000 people sending in names and trying to get us to go in their direction,” Rivera said. “And it was very interesting because as you went through it there were a lot of good possibilities, but there were also other reasons behind not being able to choose those other names. So when we started going through the list and they started to bring it down to a final grouping, the Commanders stood out the most, and it was kind of interesting to look at the possibilities with that name.

“So we’re really excited about the fact that we are really starting a new chapter. We’re turning a new page, we’re going forward, trying to step away from all the things that have happened in the past, but we’re also at the same time trying to make sure we honor what has happened with this football team in terms of the world championships and the Super Bowls that they’ve won.”

Rivera said he had grown accustomed to the team’s former nickname, though he apologized for using it during the interview. He eventually came around to the Commanders, however.

“When we started talking about the Commanders, my first thought was leaders, and in today’s world, we seem to have a lack of true leadership, and we need people to step forward and lead this country, really help to take us in the right direction. I think it’s greater than just the name of a football team. … It’s really just something that we have to take a look at and say, ‘You know, it’s an opportunity for us to take charge, take command.’”

Matt Bonesteel

Local politicians wasted little time sharing their opinions Wednesday morning after the new name and the team’s burgundy, black and gold uniforms and helmets were unveiled.

Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) <a href="https://twitter.com/MayorBowser/status/1488880684605313041?s=20&t=E9aGmGDoGoE1dAOh65eNFw" target=_blank>tweeted her endorsement</a> of a return to the District for the renamed franchise.

“Washington’s football franchise has had a storied history, and we are excited that today they will begin a new, necessary chapter as the Washington Commanders,” Bowser wrote. “The next chapter for the Washington Commanders should be a return to winning, right here in DC.”

District leaders, including Bowser, had made clear that the team’s previous name, the Washington Redskins, was offensive and would preclude it from returning to the District. But with the 90-year-old franchise’s do-over, and a new name free of controversy, that roadblock was removed.

But D.C. Council chairman Phil Mendelson splashed cold water on a possible return to the District for the team, saying in an email that he doesn’t support paying for a new stadium and that he’s troubled by <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/12/14/daniel-snyder-nfl-investigation/?itid=lk_inline_manual_135" target=_blank>allegations related to the sexual harassment investigation</a> of the team’s leadership.

“I don’t want us to pay for a football stadium that is used less than 10 times a year and in terms of non-sporting events, would compete with other stadiums that we’ve built in the city,” Mendelson said in the email. “I also remain very troubled that news reports indicate Dan Snyder interfered with NFL investigation of sexual harassment within that organization.”

A <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/11/22/most-washingtonians-want-new-redskins-stadium-rfk-site-not-bill-post-poll-finds/?itid=lk_inline_manual_137" target=_blank>2019 Washington Post poll</a> found 59 percent of residents supported the then-Washington Redskins building a new football stadium where RFK Stadium stands, but a smaller 28 percent supported using city funds to help finance a new stadium. About 4 in 10 supported the city providing land to build a new stadium (39 percent).

John  McDonnell

Reaction rolled in Wednesday on social media to the new name and logo for Washington’s NFL team, now known as the Commanders.

Grant Paulsen of 106.7 the Fan <a href="https://twitter.com/granthpaulsen/status/1488865604555657216?s=20&t=KxiWeL92NATdZZRdbzW8Kg" target=_blank>equated the changes</a> to “a fresh coat of paint”:

There was a whole lot of “the team did a two-year study and all we got was this lousy nickname and logo” <a href="https://twitter.com/BenVolin/status/1488868383424659461?s=20&t=bK1UOeJP50oS5IXsgeV8_g" target=_blank>going around</a>:

Meanwhile, some noticed that the logo seems to resemble a certain video game character:

The nickname only can go up from here in one Twitter user’s “commander” rankings:

And finally, <a href="https://twitter.com/barrysvrluga/status/1488872074076737540?s=20&amp;t=fsDnwBd47p-riZGTuB2AMw" target="_blank">The Washington Post’s Barry Svrluga checks in</a> from Beijing, where he is covering the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/beijing-winter-olympics-2022/?itid=lk_inline_manual_150" target="_blank">Winter Olympics</a>:

“If you had told my 14-year-old self that I’d be in a hotel room in China watching a professional football team reveal its new uniforms over something called “social media,” I would have … man, law school would have been a good choice.”

After Washington’s NFL team announced the Commanders as its new name Wednesday morning, the team’s top executives, including co-owners Daniel and Tanya Snyder and president Jason Wright, spoke outside FedEx Field about the new name and the franchise’s future.

Donning matching bomber jackets with Washington’s logo on the front and the team seal on the back, the Snyders took the stage and expressed gratitude for the people who helped them through the rebranding process.

“We’re excited to celebrate the rich history of the burgundy and gold, while also paving the way for our new tradition as Washington Commanders,” Tanya Snyder added.

After the <a href="https://twitter.com/NickiJhabvala/status/1488870843279192071" target=_blank>jersey reveal</a> by former quarterback Joe Theismann and defensive end Jonathan Allen, Wright re-emphasized the message of building and continuing the legacy that Washington’s football alumni formed. He thanked them Wednesday, as former players filled the front two rows wearing the same jackets as the Snyders.

The televised reveal came at 8:17 a.m. on a chilly morning, when team president Jason Wright told the “Today” show audience that the Washington Football Team would henceforth be known as the Commanders.

Craig Melvin, who formerly worked for Washington’s NBC affiliate, did the anchoring honors and was joined by Wright; Doug Williams, the team’s Super Bowl winning quarterback; and Jonathan Allen, the team’s star defensive tackle — a blend of the team’s past and future that provided a handy theme at FedEx Field.

“To me it really is about renaming the team, but I think it’s really about turning the page to a new chapter,” Wright said. “I really believe that.”

Washington Football Team announces ‘Commanders’ as new name

While acknowledging that there have been things that have happened “that have been unfortunate” he stressed that the name is a nod to the team’s rich past as well as looking to the future — “where we’re headed as opposed to where we’ve been.”

Williams said the name “had a good sound to it.”

“I loved it,” Allen said of the nickname. “I absolutely loved it. I felt like it embodies not only what the players represent, but also what this community and what the DMV represents. ... We’re excited about the future.”

In a brief interview with Melvin, conducted from his car before the announcement, Coach Ron Rivera echoed the day’s theme.

“To me it really is about renaming the team,” he said, "but I also think it’s about turning the page to a new chapter. We’ve had a lot of unfortunate things that have happened. But as we go forward, what I’m trying to do is, ‘Hey, buy into judging us now and where we’re headed as opposed to where we’ve been.’”

Washington’s NFL franchise took to national television Wednesday morning to announce its new nickname — the Washington Commanders, a name that hearkens to D.C.’s military and political ties — a public unveiling of a decision that team officials settled on last fall.

The process began 18 months ago, when the team announced that after 87 years it would no longer be known as the Redskins, and involved input ranging from fans’ suggestions to co-CEO Tanya Snyder’s opinions on uniform design, two team officials familiar with the matter told The Washington Post. As the franchise played two full seasons as the Washington Football Team, officials whittled a list of 1,200 potential names to three finalists, each of which was put through an extensive vetting process before the final decision was made.

Team executives worked closely with the digital creative company Code &amp; Theory, as well as designers from Nike and NFL personnel. All along the way, team executives say they sought out feedback from fans.

The team received more than 40,000 fan submissions, letters sometimes accompanied with children’s drawings of potential logos, or a family’s generational history of attending Washington games, team officials said. Some pleaded with team executives to scrap the whole project and reinstate the controversial former name. Others shared memories of watching quarterback Doug Williams, now a senior adviser to team president Jason Wright.

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/02/02/washington-commanders-name/?itid=lk_inline_manual_176" target=_blank>Read the full story</a>

Washington’s NFL team announces ‘Commanders’ as its new name

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