Washington’s NFL team is considering changing its name. 

The decision comes as corporations, politicians and members of the community have increasingly called for the team to jettison a name that is a racial slur for Native Americans.

“In light of recent events around our country and feedback from our community, the Washington [NFL team is] announcing the team will undergo a thorough review of the team’s name,” the team said in a press release issued Friday.

On Thursday, FedEx, whose name is emblazoned on the team’s current stadium, asked the team to change it. Also Thursday, Nike pulled the team’s gear from its website.

Lawmakers and officials have cited the name as reason enough to prevent the team from relocating to RFK Stadium in the District. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s chief of staff John Falcicchio expressed support for the name change Friday. The mayor did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The team had also begun excising references to its former owner and avowed segregationist George Preston Marshall from FedEx Field.

Team owner Dan Snyder, who has owned the team for more than two decades, has defended the name in the past, at one point telling ESPN that “the name really means honor, respect.” Snyder is now supportive of a review process of the name.

“This process allows the team to take into account not only the proud tradition and history of the franchise but also input from our alumni, the organization, sponsors, the National Football League and the local community it is proud to represent on and off the field,” Snyder said in the statement Friday.

The Rockville-based Association on American Indian Affairs, considered the nation’s oldest nonprofit for Native American advocacy, has pushed for team name changes throughout the country, including at high schools. Executive director and attorney Shannon O’Loughlin says the Washington team’s decision represents a “sea change” from Snyder’s prior comments.

“This is definitely a 360 from that position, and I think it would be incredible if the name did not change now. There is enough financial pressure on the franchise from its very important large sponsors, so it’s hitting the football team franchise in the pocketbook really hard,” she said.

“We’re grateful for the sea change, but at the same time it is so heartbreaking that the franchise wouldn’t just listen to native people who have been telling them that the term and the imagery was racist and detrimental to our identity, to our youth, and to our health and welfare,” she added.

O’Loughlin says it’s been difficult to see and hear the name pop up on the Metro and in casual conversations.

“It really kind of marginalizes you as an individual Native person, and makes you feel small and invisible,” she said. “Other people in the area don’t understand the history of the land that they’re standing on and the contributions that American Indians have made to make America great.”

“This is not about political correctness. This is about Indigenous lives matter. This is about recognizing and calling truth to people who have been completely disfranchised and made invisible by the body politic,” she added. “There are other racial slurs that our body politic will not use because of their offensive and racist nature. This term is no different than that.”

The National Congress of American Indians, an advocate for tribal governments and groups headquartered in D.C., supports the name change.

“In this historic moment and global movement for racial justice, [FedEx] can no longer sit idly by as the league’s Washington franchise clings to a dictionary-defined racial slur as its mascot. The R-word is destined for the dustbin of history — it’s not a question of if, but when, and that time is now,” NCAI President Fawn Sharp said in a statement released Thursday.

“Our nation faces a day of reckoning — we can choose to perpetuate racial inequality and the marginalization of peoples of color, or we can choose to pursue a new path towards a just, righteous, and inclusive society. Removing racist and harmful words, symbols, and imagery like the Washington team’s R-word mascot is a necessary and non-negotiable first step in taking that path,” the statement read.

The team’s name has long been controversial in the D.C. region and beyond. In 2015, the NCAI released a TV ad dubbed “Take It Away” that shows then quarterback Robert Griffin III (now with the Baltimore Ravens) running for a touchdown with the team name and logo digitally scrubbed from his uniform. At the ad’s close, “Take it away and it’s still Washington football” appears on the screen. Last month, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) challenged the team to change its name after it tweeted in support of #BlackoutTuesday, a hashtag advocating social justice.

Ron Rivera, who took over as head coach this year, has been hesitant to consider a team name change as recently as this week.

“I’m just somebody that’s from a different era when football wasn’t such a big part of the political scene. That’s one of the tough things, too, is I’ve always wanted to keep that separate,” he said on a sports podcast on Monday.

Rivera appears to have changed his position.

“This issue is of personal importance to me, and I look forward to working closely with Dan Snyder to make sure we continue the mission of honoring and supporting Native Americans and our military,” head coach Ron Rivera said in the team press release.

In 2013, D.C. Council member David Grosso (I-At Large) — with several Council members including Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3), Kenyan McDuffie (D-Ward 5) and then Council member Bowser — introduced and helped pass a 2013 resolution to change the name of the name. Earlier that year, Snyder had told USA Today, “We will never change the name of the team.” 

Grosso said the team’s decision to review the name is a “positive step,” but does not go far enough.

“Nowhere in their statement does the Washington football team commit to ending the use of a racial slur and racist emblems. In fact, they continued to employ both at least 10 times in the release. The time for a ‘review’ has passed,” Grosso said in an emailed statement.

Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks said in an emailed statement that she supports the team’s decision to reconsider the name.

“This is a transformational time in our nation that requires deep reflection and decisive action that demonstrates respect for our lives and communities that have been historically marginalized,” the statement reads. “It’s critical that as an American, a Marylander and a Prince Georgian, each of us feels this nation is as good as its promise.”

This story has been updated with additional reactions to the team’s announcement.