Washington Football Team bans fans from wearing Native American garb and face paint at its home stadium this season



The Washington Football Team — formerly known as the Washington Redskins until the franchise dropped the name a year ago amid racism outcries and rioting following the death of George Floyd — is banning fans from wearing Native American headdresses and face paint this season at its home stadium, FedEx Field, ESPN reported.

Incidentally, the newly named Cleveland Guardians (former the Indians) of Major League Baseball made the same move earlier this year.

What are the details?

The outlet said the Washington Football Team will hold a Friday practice at FedEx Field, and about 20,000 fans are expected to attend.

ESPN noted that it looks to be the biggest crowd at FedEx Field since the final home game in 2019 — which means it would represent the largest number of people there since the team dropped its former name in July 2020 and indicated "The Washington Football Team" would be its placeholder moniker.

But in March, team President Jason Wright said the organization and its fans have warmed to "The Washington Football Team" name — and that the club is considering making it the permanent name.

Wright also recently announced that Washington would not be choosing the name Warriors as its new moniker, ESPN said, adding that Native American leaders a year ago said "Warriors" would be too close to the team's former name and therefore unacceptable.

Anything else?

The Redskins name had been drawing an increasing degree of protest over the last several years, but amid last summer's rioting and social media mobs rallying to dismantle and cancel just about anything attached to the slightest hint of racism, cultural appropriation, colonialism, or white supremacy — even if the connection was centuries in the past — gave Washington greater motivation to fall in line.

The team made other off-season moves with the same politically correct flavor, such as dropping cheerleaders in favor of a coed dance squad in order to "be more inclusive."

Interestingly, back in 2016 — before the embrace of woke culture and cancel culture became everyday folks' tickets to not getting harassed around the clock — the Washington Post released a poll indicating that a vast majority of Native Americans didn't have a problem with Washington's then-mascot, the Redskins.

Cleveland Indians ban Native American headdresses, face paint at home games



Moving forward, the Cleveland Indians will prohibit fans from wearing Native American-style headdresses and face paint while in attendance at home games. The Major League Baseball club announced the new ballpark policy on Wednesday ahead of the team's home opener against the Detroit Tigers.

Under the new guidelines, fans could be denied entrance or face ejection if they conduct themselves in a "disorderly, unruly, or disruptive" way or should they choose to wear "inappropriate dress." According to the policy, inappropriate dress "includes headdresses and face paint styled in a way that references or appropriates American Indian cultures and traditions."

"Inappropriate or offensive images, words, dress or face paint must be covered or removed, and failure to do so may constitute grounds for ejection or refusal of admission," the policy continued.

The changes were made as pressure ramps up across the country for organizations to remove all potentially racially insensitive content and messaging from public view.

.@Indians fans: what to expect when you return to Progressive Field this year ⬇️ https://t.co/k6hrGIGzzn
— Jensen Lewis (@Jensen Lewis)1617214676.0

Curtis Danburg, vice president of communications and community impact for the Indians, told Cleveland.com that the dress policy does not extend to the appearance of Chief Wahoo logo on attire. He added that face paint broadcasting other messages are fine, too.

Chief Wahoo — a caricature of a big-toothed, smiling, red-faced Indian chief — is the club's former logo, which the team moved away from following the 2018 season after it drew scrutiny from some who called it racist and offensive.

Since the logo's removal was so recent, it would be difficult to ban fans from displaying it. The logo appears on nearly all jerseys or other team memorabilia purchased before 2019.

The new dress policy follows the club's announcement last year that it will change names sometime before the start of the 2022 season. The club has heralded the "Indians" name for more than a century.

Cleveland's decision follows similar ones made by teams in other professional sports leagues with Native American monikers.

Last summer, the Washington Football Team, formerly the Washington Redskins, decided to change the name of its franchise following public pressure. Also last summer, the Kansas City Chiefs announced new stadium policies to prevent fans from wearing Native American costumes and face paint, and also banned the use of the popular "Arrowhead Chop."