Washington football team gets new, improved identity

Welcome the Washington Commanders to the National Football League. The new name was unveiled on February 2, 2022.  The organization’s name was the Redskins for 87 years. They were known plainly as the Washington Football Team for two seasons. Their search for a new name began in July 2020. Right before the search began protests were raging across the United States due to the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota.
Around this same time the owner of the team, Dan Snyder, started to talk to the NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell about possibly changing the team’s name. The Redskins name was considered to be offensive and racist by some people. The team decided to keep their burgundy and gold colors, but they completely got rid of the Native American imagery.
Team President, Jason Wright and head coach, Ron Rivera, wanted to incorporate the military into the new name because of the team’s connection with the nation’s capital. Commander is an often-used term in the military as a rank of a naval officer or it can also be used as a common term.
Three uniforms were also unveiled alongside the new name. The first jersey is an all-white jersey with burgundy numbers and sleeves that have a black stripe in between white and burgundy stripes. Second, there is an all-burgundy jersey with gold numbers and slides that feature a white stripe in between two gold stripes. Lastly, there is an all-black jersey with gold numbers and a patch on the side that features sleeves with two burgundy stripes and three burgundy stars on a gold background. The black jerseys come with a black helmet with gold numbers on the side and a gold W on the front. The two other jerseys have a burgundy helmet with a gold W on the side and a large, gold stripe right down the middle.
Washington’s defensive tackle, Jonathan Allen, was the only current player at the unveiling ceremony. There were 17 alumni members of the organization attending the ceremony including London Fletcher and Gary Clark. Former Washington quarterback, Joe Theismann, says that this new name is also a new beginning for the organization.
The Washington organization is officially the Commanders and there is no going back now. This is a brand new organization and a fresh start for the team. They have so much young talent with players such as Chase Young, Terry McLaurin, and Jonathan Allen. The team has a great future ahead of them and they have a commanding presence.