The Washington Commanders have ruled out bringing back their original Redskins logo despite reports that negotiations were under way.
Speculation had swelled in recent months that the NFL side could restore their original logo after the descendants of the Indian chief whose face it depicted called for the insignia’s return.
Steve Daines, the Republican senator for Montana, last month also appeared to suggest that the logo would be brought back following “good faith negotiations” with the team and the NFL.
“The censorship of the former Commanders logo was a classic case of woke gone wrong,” Mr Daines, who has campaigned for the logo to be honoured, wrote on Facebook. “I applaud the Commanders and the NFL for their commitment to never censor the logo again.”
However, a Washington Commanders team spokesman told The Telegraph that “there are no plans to bring the logo back”.
The Washington Redskins retired their name and Indian chief logo amid pressure from sponsors and activists in the summer of 2020, dropping the name the franchise was known by for nearly nine decades.
Mr Daines pledged this summer to block legislation funding the revitalisation of the dilapidated RFK stadium which the Commanders hope to move to until the NFL and the Commanders honour the logo.
The logo was designed by Blackie Wetzel, a member of the Blackfeet Nation in the state of Montana.
The Senate last month approved the funding with Mr Daines saying he was satisfied by the team’s efforts to honour Walter “Blackie” Wetzel, the family’s patriarch, The Washington Post reported.
The row over the team’s logo came after a string of incidents in which the Commanders and the NFL were accused of airbrushing the side’s previous branding.
Mr Daines posted on X, formerly Twitter, that the NFL had posted “poorly photoshopped images to hide the logo” on social media, adding that Fox had “blurred the logo on a local broadcast showing historical clips from the team’s heyday”.
In a separate incident, an NFL retailer was accused of selling a legacy shirt for Redskins legend Darrell Green with the original logo erased.
In a reprieve to some fans who want to see the Redskins reinstated as their team’s moniker, a Commanders spokesman confirmed to The Telegraph that the original logo would still appear on legacy memorabilia for former players who had worn the original logo on the field.
However, analysis of the Commanders’ online store found that throwback jerseys for Redskins legends Darrell Green and Sean Taylor showed no sign of the original crest.
