- Dan Quinn divided the Commanders’ fan base with a controversial T-shirt
- The team provided “no organizational comment” on the new head coach’s merchandise
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The Washington Commanders may be trying to distance themselves from Dan Quinn wearing a controversial jersey that references the team’s racially insensitive former logo.
Quinn, who was named head coach this offseason, divided the fan base when he wore a graphic T-shirt with two feathers from a Native American headdress over the weekend. The jersey, which was a mix of the current and former logos, featured the team name beneath a large W decorated with two feathers.
The team told NBC Sports they have ‘no organizational comment’ on this. The outlet also claimed that “Quinn wore the T-shirt alone, without the team knowing he would do it.”
Many fans, long dissatisfied with the franchise’s 2020 rebrand due to pressure from Native American groups, praised Quinn’s unlicensed T-shirt.
“I’d actually buy one of these,” one fan wrote on X.
Dan Quinn wore a controversial shirt that referenced the Commanders’ former logo
The new head coach divided the fan base with his unlicensed merchandise
“Keep the W with the feather… I would vote for that logo,” chimed in another.
However, others called the unapproved merchandise “terrible.”
“Completely inconsistent with the reason they changed the name in the first place,” someone wrote on X.
The club was previously known as the Redskins, dating back to its founding in 1933, but dropped the name in 2020 amid mounting commentary about its racially insensitive undertones.
The team’s new ownership group, led by managing partner Josh Harris, previously shut down 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 like the former name,” Harris told Sports Illustrated last year.
The team told NBC Sports it had “no organizational comment” on the matter
The team ditched its original logo and team name, the Redskins, in 2020
Many fans have been unhappy with the team name since the announcement was made in 2022
“But look, part of our fanbase felt disrespected by the former name,” he continued.
‘Sport should bring people together and should not distract. “I don’t want any distractions… I thought it was important that we end the conversation.”
The origins of “redskin” are disputed, according to a 2016 Washington Post article that claims 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 every red skin sent to purgatory,” read an announcement in The Winona Daily Republican. “This amount is more than the dead 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 contemptuous.”