Photo Credit: Dicks Sporting Goods
Major retailers, including, Dicks Sporting Goods, Nike, Walmart, Target and now Amazon, have stopped selling Washington Redskins merchandise nationwide. This came after the football teams announcement on Friday, July 2, shared that FedEx, sponsor of the team's stadium in Landover, Maryland, formally asked the team to change its name. The team is undergoing a name evaluation due to the consideration of it being a racial slur disparaging to Native Americans.
Walmart said in a statement on Twitter that they would “discontinuing the sale of items that referenced the team’s name and logo”. On Wednesday, Amazon joined in and sent a note to sellers that they were required to discontinue the team’s merchandise from the site, a spokesperson confirmed to CBS News.
On Wednesday, Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson, asked the retailer to remove any additional merchandise featuring offensive slurs and images, including Cleveland Indians merchandise. The MLB team recently said it would also consider a possible name change.
Rebranding of both teams has been a topic of discussion for years, and recent protests have sparked the renewed interest. "We have been talking to the NFL and sharing our concerns regarding the name of the Washington team," Nike told CBS News on Thursday. "We are pleased to see the team taking a first step towards change."
PepsiCo and Bank of America also encouraged the change.