Walmart, Target Remove Washington NFL Gear From Shelves

WASHINGTON, DC — Walmart and Target have pulled Washington Redskins merchandise from their websites after the team announced Friday that it would conduct a "thorough review" of the team's nickname.

The move by the retail giants to stop selling Washington NFL team gear comes as sponsors and investors put pressure on the team to change its name. Over the weekend, reports also emerged that minority owners in the team are looking to sell their financial stakes in the franchise.

"Given today’s announcement by the NFL and the Washington team’s ownership, we are discontinuing the sale of items that reference the team’s name and logo," Walmart said Friday in a tweet. A Target spokesperson told Barron's on Monday that Redskins team merchandise had been removed from its website.

Washington merchandise was no longer visible on Nike’s official site, although apparel that uses the Redskins name — such as jerseys, hats and T-shirts — was still available on the NFL’s official online store, Barron's reported.

Protests across the country following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis have forced businesses and policymakers to review building names, statues and other imagery associated with racist historical figures. For decades, Native Americans and other groups have called on the Washington team ownership to change its nickname, describing it as a deeply offensive slur.

The team announced last month it would remove founder George Preston Marshall’s name from all team material because he was notorious for opposing integration in the National Football League.

On Monday, President Donald Trump came down on the side of keeping the team name. "They name teams out of STRENGTH, not weakness, but now the Washington Redskins & Cleveland Indians, two fabled sports franchises, look like they are going to be changing their names in order to be politically correct," Trump tweeted.

In 2013, team majority owner Dan Snyder said he would never change the name. Other members of the organization have reiterated that position in subsequent years.

Also in 2013, Trump, when he was a private citizen, tweeted that presidents should not be expressing their opinion on team names. "President should not be telling the Washington Redskins to change their name — our country has far bigger problems! FOCUS on them, not nonsense," Trump tweeted at the time.

Three minority owners of the Redskins are attempting to sell their stakes in the team, the Washington Post reported Sunday. The owners — Robert Rothman, Dwight Schar and Frederick W. Smith — hired an investment banking firm to conduct the search for potential buyers because they are “not happy being a partner” of majority owner Snyder, according to the Post.

Rothman is chairman and CEO of Black Diamond Capital, a private investment company. Schar is chairman of NVR Inc., the nation’s fifth-largest home builder. Smith is chairman, president and CEO of FedEx, which in 1999 signed a 27-year, $205 million naming-rights deal for what is now known as FedEx Field.

After the team announced the review of its name on Friday, PepsiCo said in a statement it has been in conversations with the NFL and Washington team management for a few weeks about changing the name. The company said it believes “it is time for a change.” In 2017, PepsiCo signed a long-term agreement with Washington to be the team's exclusive beverage and snack partner.

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