Washington DC soccer team president Jason Wright says the franchise “will choose an identity that is unambiguously detached from any use or approximate connection with Native American depictions.”
Washington DC soccer president Jason Wright ruled out the possibility of Warriors becoming a new moniker for the franchise as it continually departs from Native American imagery.
In a statement on the group’s website on Monday, Wright outlined Washington’s intention to “prioritize the views of those affected by the historical use of the Native American language.”
“I want to refer to the name that emerged among our fans, the Warriors,” Wright said. – This name can be seen as a natural and even harmless transition, given that it does not necessarily or specifically does not have a negative connotation.
“But as we learned from our research and interactions with different groups, ‘context matters’ and that makes it a slippery slope.
“Feedback from the various communities we participated with clearly highlighted the deep-seated discomfort around the Warriors, with a clear recognition that it was too closely related to Native American themes.
“This acceptance of potentially indigenous-related iconography and imagery would not represent the clear departure that many communities are urging us to accept so strongly, and which, in all honesty, we set out to do when we started this process a year ago.
“We have 89 years of history in this league, and if we do not recognize that in the past we have used indigenous imagery when considering a new name, that does not mean that we will remember the individuals and communities affected by the previous name.
“We have made significant changes to our organization and our culture, and our new name should reflect these changes. To this end, we will choose an identity that unambiguously departs from any use or approximate association with Native American imagery. ”
While acknowledging that some may remain frustrated with the rebranding process, Wright reaffirmed his belief that a new identity can help unify their fanbase.
