Washington (AFP)
The Washington Redskins American Football Championship (NFL) team is expected to announce on Monday, according to American media, the name change, which has been criticized for many years for its racist overtones.
Voices have been raised for a long time asking the team in the American capital to change its name and logo, Native American organizations demanding to abandon "this racist insult".
Its owner, Daniel Snyder, had always refused, saying that this nickname paid homage to the Amerindians.
But after the death of the African-American George Floyd at the end of May, and while the United States is in full examination of conscience to rethink its relation to their racist past, the pressure - in particular economic from the part of sponsors like FedEx - rose again around the Redskins.
10 days ago, the team thus opened the voice to a change, announcing that it would carry out an "in-depth examination" of the name "in light of recent events across the country".
According to several media, including the Washington Post or ESPN, who cite anonymous sources close to the file, the official announcement of the removal of the name is scheduled for Monday. The new name will not be announced immediately, they say.
Asked, the team did not respond to a request for comment immediately.
Several other American professional sports teams have Native American names and logos, such as the Cleveland Indians baseball team, which made their "Chief Wahoo" mascot disappear from their outfits and almost all their merchandising, and also announced that they are thinking about the question of their name.
A week ago, Donald Trump criticized the move: "It looks like the Washington Redskins and the Cleveland Indians, two legendary sports franchises, are going to change their names to be politically correct," he tweeted.
© 2020 AFP