Mikaela Lefrak
Washington’s football team is retiring its name, a racial slur for Native Americans. The logo will go, too. The news comes during a national reckoning on racial inequality and after corporate sponsors pushed the team to modify its branding.
The question now is what the new name and logo will be. The team hasn’t given much insight into how it will make that decision, though the Washington Post reported today that the front-runner for the new name is “held up by trademark issues.”
In a statement, the team said owner Dan Synder 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.”
Fans, graphic designers and members of the public have been proposing alternative names and logos for years. Behance, a social media platform that showcases creative design work, is full of ideas.
James Lewis, a Texan and Dallas Cowboys fan, designed a package around the Redtails, a nickname for the Black World War II aviators known as the Tuskegee Airmen. The airmen’s planes had distinctive red-painted tails.
Graphic designer Pete Rogers also came up with a design for the Redtails.
Like the existing logo, many of the proposals feature Native American imagery. A design concept from Edward Thomas incorporates a spear tip into the first letter of his proposed team name, the Rivals.
Arizona-based designer Mike Joseph says he was contracted to design a Redspears logo by the owner of the Redspears trademark.
Zack Rueger of Michigan designed a logo for the Washington Scouts. He says the name “celebrates the proud tradition of Native American culture and the inclusion of scouts into the military.”
Many of the ideas incorporate the team’s existing color scheme and the word “red.” A proposal to change the name to “Redwolves” comes with the added benefit of having a modicum of actual connection to the region: Red wolves are an endangered species native to the southeastern United States.
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Other concepts are more abstract. A designer who goes by RK created a featherlike red swoop for his Redhawks design on Behance.
Amanda Dingman’s design steers clear of Native American imagery entirely, instead reimagining the team’s mascot as a knight.
The franchise aims to have a new name in place by the start of the 2020 NFL season in September.
This story has been updated with additional designs.
