The Washington Commanders could change their name once again. The possibility was confirmed by basketball legend Magic Johnson, who is part of the franchise’s new ownership group led by Josh Harris.
Johnson recently had an interview with NBC’s Today in which he discussed his new role as an NFL team co-owner and was asked whether the Commanders will undergo another name change in the future.
“Everything’s on the table, right? Especially after this year. We’ll see where we are with the name,” said Johnson. “… We’re going to spend this year understanding what we have in place. … The name of the team will come up eventually.”
The franchise decided to drop its racially insensitive nickname “Redskins” back in 2019. They played as the Washington Football Team for two seasons before adopting the Commanders’ moniker ahead of the 2022 season.
The Washington fanbase never seemed to have warmed up to the new name, and there were immediately loud calls for change. Some fans now hope that the new ownership might be more open to that.
Harris, who is the franchise’s controlling owner, also confirmed that the team’s name would be up for discussion but said that there are more important things the new ownership has to address, like the upcoming season, improving fan experience, and being a bigger community presence.
“We’re going to look at everything and see where we are, but those are our three priorities now,” Harris concluded in a recent interview.
