Washington Commanders Name Confirmed and People Hate It

NFL franchise Washington Football Team has confirmed its new branding "Washington Commanders" after much speculation—and the announcement of the new name and logo has been met with an overwhelmingly negative response.

The team ditched the name Redskins, widely accepted as an offensive term to Native Americans, in July 2020 following mounting pressure and backlash.

Having gone by the moniker the Washington Football Team for two seasons, the new name was officially announced on the team's Twitter account on Wednesday, also showing revamped uniforms.

"The future of Washington football is here #TakeCommand," read a message from the team's Twitter account.

A video was also shared, showing the team over the years, leading up to its new era as the Commanders.

Palm Beach Post sports journalist Joe Shad reacted to the news by sharing a gif of Curb Your Enthusiasm star Larry David looking far from enthusiastic, as he added the plain and simple caption: "Washington Commanders."

Filmmaker Rahul Puri mustered up an extra word in his reaction to the new name, tweeting: "The Washington Commanders. Ewww. #NFL."

American Radio University broadcaster Matt McCleskey was also unenthused, as he joined the chorus of detractors on the micro-blogging platform.

"Washington Commanders is meh," McCleskey wrote. "Nowhere near as good a name as Washington Football Team."

Comedian John Fugelsang pointed out that the team now shares a name with President Joe Biden's German shepherd, who was welcomed into the White House in December.

"'Washington Commanders' proves that an NFL franchise can go from a racist slur to being named after Joe Biden's dog," Fugelsang quipped.

Pointing out a potential nickname, Bleacher Report journalist Tyler Conway said that people should "not focus on whether the Washington Commanders is a good name but instead focus on the fact a red and yellow team located in Washington DC named itself something that can be shortened to Commies focus on the hilarious aspect of NO ONE realizing this over 2 years."

But it was not all bad. Ryan Welton, digital content creator for Oklahoma City's KWTV, counted himself among those who appreciated the moniker.

"Pretty sure I'm the only one who actually loves the 'Washington Commanders' name," Welton tweeted. "Think it's kind of badass. #NFL."

Football analyst Pat McAfee, a former punter for the Indianapolis Colts, reacted in a tweet, writing that rebranding is "always gonna be tough" but it is "a good name."

"Now of course.. They're gonna be called The Commies.. they're red.. in the Nation's capital," he added, "but nonetheless.. Commanders is a good name."

Still, the Commanders are seeing the funny side of the social media reaction, tweeted a meme of a man with the new name superimposed onto his coat.

An accompanying caption read: "no more 'get a name' jokes."

In the hours leading up to the grand unveiling, the name was leaked on Tuesday night in a video that has now been viewed more than three million times on Twitter.

Shared by photojournalist Brad Freitas, the aerial footage zoomed in at a window at the team's stadium, the FedEx Field. Through a window, a poster was visible of the new name.

On Monday, former Washington quarterback Joe Theismann discussed the then-incoming name ahead of the official announcement.

Appearing on CBS Sports Radio's The D.A. Show, he said: "I think the Commanders is a name that people are going to be talking about going forward.

"There were so many different options, but once again, it is trademark infringement, it is getting approval from different people.

"There are so many things that you have to consider, Commanders is basically Washington, D.C., a lot of commanders in Washington and the Pentagon and a lot of different branches of the service. That is the way I am looking at it, positions of leadership when it comes to the new name.

He added: "If you win, people are going to get excited about [the name], if you lose people are going to be upset about it.

"That is the bottom line in our business, if you win then people will say 'I like that, I can cheer for that, go Commanders.' If you lose, it is like 'why did they do that, I am not happy with that name.'"