UPDATE - US: 'Redskins' retire nickname, long considered racist

ADDS DETAILS THROUGHOUT, MODIFIES DECK

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The Washington Redskins announced Monday they are retiring their nickname, which has been considered derogatory to Native Americans for decades.

The American football team said on its official Twitter account it is taking the action, which also includes ending use of the team's logo, a profile of a Native American man, following a "thorough review" that began July 3.

The team did not announce what new name and logo would be adopted in their place, but said owner Dan Snyder and coach Ron Rivera are developing alternatives "that will enhance the standing of our proud, tradition rich franchise and inspire our sponsors, fans and community for the next 100 years."

Snyder had long been unwavering in his position that the team not change its name even as it faced years of criticism for being considered a slur against the indigenous peoples of North America.

But he has faced mounting pressure from sponsors amid the national reckoning on race prompted by George Floyd's death. Snyder is also hoping to relocate the team from the Washington, D.C. suburbs in Maryland to the city proper, a move officials have said is impossible as long as the team maintains its original name.

"I call on Dan Snyder once again to face that reality, since he does still desperately want to be in the nation’s capital," D.C.'s non-voting delegate to the House of Representatives, Eleanor Holmes-Norton told the Washington Post earlier this month. "He has got a problem he can’t get around — and he particularly can’t get around it today, after the George Floyd killing."

D.C. Deputy Mayor John Falcicchio further said in an interview with the newspaper that without a name change "There is no viable path, locally or federally, for the Washington football team to return to Washington, D.C."