The Washington Commanders were briefly known as the Washington Football Team after changing the franchise mascot from the “Redskins” in a move of respect for Native Americans and to help stop perpetuating racial stereotypes.
However, some fans would like the “Redskins” moniker to return, and while the franchise hasn’t gone that far, it did bring back some alternate logos that pay homage to its “Redskins” days, as well as an alternate logo that pays homage to the old era.
On Tuesday, investigative reporter Eric Flack revealed that the Commanders still sell merch with the Redksins logo, and also reported on why.
“I just walked out of the Washington Commanders team store with a T-shirt that has the old logo on it, as well as that controversial old name, the Washington Redskins,” Flack said in a video posted on social media.
“These are things that fans, many fans, thought they would never see printed up on merchandise sold by the team ever again, especially after the team changed its name in 2020 over complaints that that name, the Washington Redskins, was racist to the Native American population. I asked the team, why are you doing this now after years of really not seeing much of this old logo and this old name, especially from official team merchandise?
NEW: Commanders selling merch with the retired Redskins name and logo — and team says the reason is trademark law.
“We are required to maintain the marks in commercial usage so that marks remain under franchise control.”
But position on returning to old name hasn’t changed. pic.twitter.com/c6ZyGENrbV
— Eric Flack (@EricFlackTV) August 25, 2026
“They said it’s something that they sort of have to do from time to time to protect the trademark. They still own the trademark to this name, Washington Redskins, as well as this old logo that many fans love so much.
“If they don’t use it, they lose that trademark, which would open up a sort of black market for other people to go out and reproduce this name and logo, which is something the Washington Commanders do not want to see happen.
Flack went on to make sure it was clear that the franchise made it clear the old logo would never return as the franchise’s featured logo.
“They do say though, this will only be used when they’re honoring former players and that fans should not expect to see a lot of it. They stress over and over again… this does not mean the team is going back to its old name. They are the Commanders from here on out.”
For the fans that are adamant about it, they still have a way to connect to the franchise’s past.
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