Though new Commanders ownership may be considering another name change, the team’s former nickname is officially off the table.
Speaking at a dinner hosted by David Rubenstein and the Economic Club of Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, Mitchell Rales—one of the top partners in the ownership group led by Josh Harris—shut down any further speculation that new leadership was considering going back to the franchise’s former moniker.
“That ship has sailed,” Mitchell Rales said, per Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post. “We’re not going to re-litigate the past. We’re about the future. We’re about building the future and not having a divisive culture that we’re engaged in. We’re going to look at everything come the end of the year and think about a lot of different things and do a lot of testing and see what people think. And we’ll learn. The beauty is we have the time to look at all of this stuff intelligently and make fan-based decisions.”
Rales’s remarks are right in line with what team president Jason Wright said late last month on 106.7 The Fan about the nickname “not being considered. Period.”
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Washington dumped its old nickname in July 2020, following years of requests from Native American leaders to change the name due to racial insensitivity. The franchise adopted the moniker “Washington Football Team” until Feb. 2022, when the Commanders nickname was put into place.
Nevertheless, speculation has swirled since the Harris-led ownership group purchased the club from Daniel Snyder in July. Magic Johnson, who possesses a minority stake in the Commanders, confirmed that “everything’s on the table” in regard to a possible name change.
Given the current name’s connection to Snyder and tumultuous past years of the franchise, new leadership certainly seems to be intrigued by the idea of beginning their own legacy in the nation’s capital. For now though, the Commanders will prepare for the 2023 season on the field, which kicks off Sunday at 1 p.m. ET against the Cardinals.
