Washington Redskins? More like Washington.. lack of... merchandising.. skins...

[apsham]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/us-patent-office-cancels-redskins-trademark-registration-says-name-is-disparaging/2014/06/18/e7737bb8-f6ee-11e3-8aa9-dad2ec039789_story.html

I never figured I'd see something like this happen but, damn.

[Benji]

They are going to make sooooo much money. They got to look like they were fighting and looking like they were some kind of underdog before getting to sell off their old merch as if it were limited edition, then sell shitloads of new merch under their new name. Smart business people.

[RPS]

They are going to make sooooo much money. They got to look like they were fighting and looking like they were some kind of underdog before getting to sell off their old merch as if it were limited edition, then sell shitloads of new merch under their new name. Smart business people.

If that was the case, they wouldn't be appealing the decision. Rebranding the entire team is going to require lots and lots of money. No owner wants to do that.

[HC]

They are going to make sooooo much money. They got to look like they were fighting and looking like they were some kind of underdog before getting to sell off their old merch as if it were limited edition, then sell shitloads of new merch under their new name. Smart business people.

Rebranding is going to cost them out the nose. They would be lucky to break even. They should suck it up and fucking change it already though.

[Benji]

$10m-$15m approx. To a company worth $1.7b that's a drop in the ocean. They knew they'd likely lose the argument and pay out eventually, but going down swinging will massively help the transition and has kept them even more in the public eye for over a year.

[IDOL]

Totally gotta be their new name

[Benji]

I'm hoping for The Washington Crackers, so that people can make jokes about their defensive line crumbling.

[Liam]

I vote Armadillos.

[Benjamin]

Man, who knew John Oliver could inspire such change?

[FestiveJack]

Man they should just change back to the Braves name. So much better, even if Redskins wasn't racist.

[Lint]

Meh, some people think the Braves names is racist too.

I say Redhawks. Won't have to change anything too much then

[Benji]

Washington Reds! Then all they have to do is remove the kins

[Meacon Keaton]

Meh, some people think the Braves names is racist too.

I say Redhawks. Won't have to change anything too much then

That's what University of Miami (of Ohio) did. They were the Redskins for years, and changed their name a while back.

Edited June 18, 2014 by Don Meaconly

[Sousa]

Just do what the Illinois Fighting Illini did and get rid of your racist chief mascot but still have some fans show up dressed as a fucking injun in a John Wayne movie to make people uncomfortable.

[RPS]

$10m-$15m approx. To a company worth $1.7b that's a drop in the ocean. They knew they'd likely lose the argument and pay out eventually, but going down swinging will massively help the transition and has kept them even more in the public eye for over a year.

If your company is worth 1.7 billion, you aren't going to just spend 10 mil to rebrand your team.

[METALMAN]

I didn't realise there was a special thread for this, so I'll just drop in what I posted elsewhere:

I dropped into this thread because the issue has received a bit of coverage here and I was interested in what you guys thought about it. I mean, maybe I'm not able to appreciate the significance of it in a way that Americans can, but I do find it a bit horrific that a team can have that logo and that name nowadays and people think it is okay.

Although I'm not entirely sure it will lead to any proper change.

[King Ellis]

It is not racist, it is tradition.

[Purple!]

Racism is the greatest tradition of all. Where would society be today without a healthy dose of imperialism and racism?

[gunnar hendershow]

Your feelings would be the same feelings as most of us here. It's been a talking point in DC for almost two decades that the owner of the then-Bullets decided to change the name voluntarily with zero outside pressure because of the connotation it had towards gun violence (at the time Washington DC had one of the highest gun violence crime rates in the country) but nobody at the Redskins offices thought they should follow suit. But, yeah, the "it's always been this way" and the much worse "they actually chose that name to honor the Native Americans" crowds have been out in full force today.

If someone can tell me what is actually being lost by the Redskins changing their name then maybe I'd see their argument but what is being lost? Are they forfeiting all their Super Bowl trophies? Or is it just wrong because you can't go on Twitter and do #HTTR during the games? (Obviously the latter)

[Plubby]

I'm hoping for The Washington Crackers, so that people can make jokes about their defensive line crumbling.

That'll definitely solve allll the racist problems the franchise has.