National Football League

New Commanders owners sticking with unpopular team nickname 'for now'

Published May. 30, 2024 11:56 a.m. ET

The Washington Commanders' team name isn't popular among sports fans in the nation's capital, but they'll still have to call their local NFL team that name for the foreseeable future.

Marjorie Harris, the wife of Commanders majority owner Josh Harris and Chair of the Washington Commanders Foundation, indicated that the team name will stick for the time being.

"As you would imagine, everybody has an opinion about the name. Some good, some bad, some in the middle," Marjorie Harris told reporters on Wednesday. "I think that we have a lot of work to do and so that name issue is going to be on the side for now until we can get things going. And I mean, quite frankly, I had a whole day out in the community and I kept referring to the team as the Commanders and — you know what? — it sounds pretty good to me.

"So, for now, it's the Commanders."

The organization rebranded and switched its nickname to the Commanders in 2022 after years of controversy surrounding the previous name that many viewed as derogatory toward Native Americans.

But a recent Washington Post-Schar School poll found that fans aren't thrilled with the new nickname. Fifty-four percent of sports fans in the Washington, D.C., area said they either "disliked" or "hated" the name. Among Commanders fans, 58% said they "disliked" or "hated" the team name.

Even fewer fans want to see the Commanders keep their team name — just 16% in the poll. When asked what the name should switch to, "Washington Football Team" received the most votes, but only 17% of respondents picked that name. The organization was called the Washington Football Team in the two seasons (2020-21) before it became the Commanders.

The new name has been unpopular since the team introduced it in February 2022. Forty-nine percent of D.C. residents "disliked" the name while another 15% "hated" it, a poll conducted by the Washington Post found shortly after the team's rebranding was unveiled.

Washington picked the name Commanders under its previous ownership, with Dan Snyder's regime picking the name after an 18-month process. Presidents, Brigade, Redhogs, Football Team, Armada, Defenders and Red Wolves were among the other names in consideration at the time.

When Harris' group bought the team from Snyder in 2023, there was some early speculation that the new owners would change the team nickname. Minority owner Magic Johnson left the door open for it to happen.

"I think everything's on the table, especially after this year," Johnson said on "The Today Show" last July. "We'll see where we are with the name, but I can't say [for sure] right now."

Harris' group took over the organization shortly before the start of the team's 4-13 season. They overhauled the football operations right after the 2023 season ended, hiring Adam Peters as general manager and replacing head coach Ron Rivera with Dan Quinn. They also selected LSU QB Jayden Daniels with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Jayden Daniels on how he plans to turn around Commanders

Marjorie Harris said that the group is more settled in after getting acclimated last season, looking ahead to the future.

"Last season, everything was new, everything," Harris said. "The first day I walked into the stadium, it was new and every game had a little bit of a different twist to it. So we have that behind us. This year, it's about our organization. Last year, it was a little bit about finding our way and not being able to make the changes we were hoping to make until we had the opportunity to do it.

"Now, we did. We have an amazing quarterback, an amazing coach and GM. We're really putting the pieces together. We're all really excited about what this team is starting to look like and what hopefully can happen with a little bit of luck, magic, skill and hard work."