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.
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