US President Donald Trump on Monday criticized the Washington Redskins for reviewing their team name, as top retailers continued to pull the NFL franchise’s merchandise from their shelves.
Under mounting pressure from sponsors and racial justice advocates, Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder on Friday last week said that the team would rethink its controversial name, with the MLB’s Cleveland Indians following suit.
“They name teams out of STRENGTH, not weakness, but now the Washington Redskins & Cleveland Indians, two fabled sports franchises, look like they are going to be changing their names in order to be politically correct,” Trump wrote on Twitter.
The Redskins, one of the oldest NFL franchises dating back to the 1930s, have long resisted calls for a new name and logo.
The term “Redskins” is widely seen as a slur against Native Americans.
The Cleveland Indians, who are due to begin playing later this month after the COVID-19 pandemic put the MLB season on hold, have phased out their “Chief Wahoo” logo, but retained the use of their 105-year-old nickname.
Trump has previously voiced support for the Redskins team name and in 2013 criticized then-US president Barack Obama, who said that he would “think about changing” the team name.
Controversy over the name resurfaced amid widespread racial and social justice protests across the US after the death of George Floyd in police custody.
Sponsors, including PepsiCo and FedEx Corp, which has the naming rights to the team’s Landover, Maryland, stadium, called for a change last week, while Nike said that it welcomed the team’s decision to review the name
All Washington Redskins merchandise was gone from the Nike online store on Monday and was no longer being sold by the company.
A Target spokesman said that it began the process of removing Washington Redskins merchandise from its shelves and online store at the weekend.
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
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