Washington NFL Team Drops 'Redskins' Name & Logo

The Washington Redskins are shedding that name effective immediately, the team announced Monday. The team said it is "retiring" the name and logo and that owner Dan Snyder and coach Ron Rivera are working closely to develop a new name and design.

A new name must still be selected for one of the oldest and most storied teams in the National Football League, and it was unclear how soon that will happen, CBS News reports.  But for now, arguably the most polarizing name in North American professional sports is gone at a time of reckoning over racial injustice, iconography and racism in the U.S.

Native American advocates and experts have long criticized the name they call a "dictionary-defined racial slur." Over a dozen Native leaders and organizations wrote to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell last week demanding an immediate end to Washington's use of the name. Goodell, who has fielded questions on the topic for years, said he supported the review.  

The move came less than two weeks after Snyder, a boyhood fan of the team who once declared he would never get rid of the name, launched a "thorough review" amid pressure from sponsors. FedEx, Nike, Pepsi and Bank of America all lined up against the name, which was given to the franchise in 1933 when the team was still based in Boston.