- Dan Quinn divided Commanders fans with controversial jersey
- The team offered “no organizational comment” on the new head coach’s merchandise.
- DailyMail.com provides the latest international sports news.
The Washington Commanders may be trying to distance themselves from Dan Quinn by sporting a controversial jersey that referenced the team’s formerly racially insensitive logo.
Quinn, who was named head coach in the offseason, divided the fan base when he wore a shirt with two feathers from a Native American headdress over the weekend. The jersey, which was a combination of the current and previous logos, featured the team’s name beneath a large W adorned with two feathers.
The team told NBC Sports They have “no organizational comment” on the matter. The outlet also claimed that “Quinn wore the jersey alone, without the team knowing he would.”
Many fans, who have long been unhappy with the franchise’s 2020 rebrand amid pressure from Native American groups, praised Quinn’s unlicensed jersey.
“I’d actually buy one of those,” one fan wrote on X.
Dan Quinn wore a controversial t-shirt that referenced the old Commanders logo.
The new coach divided the fans with his unlicensed merchandise
“Hold the W with the pen… I would vote for that logo,” another chimed in.
Others, however, called the unauthorized merchandise “appalling.”
“It goes completely against the reason they changed the name in the first place,” one person wrote on X.
The club had previously been known as the Redskins since its inception in 1933, but dropped the nickname in 2020 amid growing comments about its racially insensitive undertones.
The team’s new ownership group, led by managing partner Josh Harris, previously quelled rumors that they are considering a name change after purchasing the Commanders in 2023.
“Obviously, I grew up in DC and was there during the glory years, so I understand why fans love the old name,” Harris told Sports Illustrated last year.
The team told NBC Sports it had “no organizational comment” on the matter.
The team dropped its original logo and name, the Redskins, in 2020.
Many fans have been unhappy with the team name since the announcement was made in 2022.
“But look, there was a part of our fan base that felt disrespected by the old name,” he continued.
‘Sports are supposed to bring people together and not be a distraction. I don’t want any distractions… I thought it was important that we finish the conversation.’
The origin of “redskin” is disputed, according to a 2016 Washington Post article, which states that it was first used as a pejorative as early as 1863 in Minnesota.
“The state reward for dead Indians has been increased to $200 for each Redskin sent to Purgatory,” reads an advertisement in The Winona Daily Republican. “This sum is more than the bodies of all the Indians east of the Red River are worth.”
In 1898, Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary began defining “redskin” with the phrase “often disdainful.”