Washington drops 'Redskins' name after years of controversy
Former NFL player Jack Brewer reacts.
The Washington Football Team’s next change after removing the Redskins’ name from its organization, changing the uniforms, and taking the nickname off the walls in its facility was to take aim at a Twitter hashtag.
Washington announced Sunday that it was changing up its hashtag, which fans can use to follow the team and conversations surrounding the organization. It was going to go from #HTTR – standing for Hail to the Redskins – to #1932 – the year in which the organization was founded.
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As Pro Football Talk pointed out, Twitter doesn’t allow hashtags for numbers, making Washington’s idea null and void.
A source familiar with the matter told Fox News that the team had jumped the gun on the hashtag and after seeing the fan reaction wanted to leave it up to the fan base to help come up with a suitable hashtag for the upcoming season.
“ok so no new hashtag yet,” the team tweeted. “give us your options of what you want!”
The fan reaction was immense.
Last week, the team removed the phrase “Hail to the Redskins,” which had been a rallying cry for fans for several years, from a wall and repainted it with the words “For Old DC.” The team could seemingly use #ForOldDC if it needed to.
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The team also unveiled how their helmets are going to look. Without a new team name, Washington showed its fans that it was going to go with individual players’ numbers on helmets this season.
It appeared Washington is doing the best it can to remove itself from the Redskins name after deciding that it was time to retire the moniker over racial connotations against Native Americans.
“On July 3rd, we announced the commencement of a thorough review of the team’s name. That review has begun in earnest. As part of this process, we want to keep our sponsors, fans and community apprised of our thinking as we go forward,” the franchise said in a statement last month.
“Today, we are announcing we will be retiring the Redskins name and logo upon completion of this review.
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“[Team owner] Dan Snyder and Coach [Ron] Rivera are working closely to develop a new name and design approach that will enhance the standing of our proud, tradition rich franchise and inspire our sponsors, fans and community for the next 100 years.”
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