Shareholders and investment firms of Nike, FedEx and PepsiCo worth a collective $620 billion are asking the three companies to terminate business relationships with the Washington Redskins unless the team agrees to change its name, according to AdWeek.
Seven investment firms helped organized three letters signed by 87 investors to the three brands. They urge each brand to sever ties with the Redskins.
“This is a broader movement now that’s happening that Indigenous peoples are part of,” Carla Fredericks, director of First Peoples Worldwide, told Adweek. “Indigenous peoples were sort of left out of the civil rights movement in the late 1960s in many respects, because our conditions were so dire on reservations and our ability to engage publicly was very limited because of that. With social media now, obviously everything is very different.”
In the letter to Nike, investors commended the shoe brand for its continued commitment to right against systematic racism. They also acknowledged Nike’s backing of Colin Kaepernick in his efforts to bring awareness to social injustice.
“However, Nike continues to provide uniforms and equipment to the Washington D.C. NFL football team which bears the logo and name,” the letter continues. “Further, it produces and sells thousands of jerseys and other apparel with the team’s racist name and logo. This association with and facilitation of the racism inherent in the name and logo runs contrary to the very sentiments expressed by the company.”
Nike has been the sole provided for uniforms with NFL since 2012. An eight-year extension will continue that pact through the 2028 season.
The letter to FedEx called out the company for its sponsorship of the Redskins’ home stadium — FedEx Field — in Landover, Maryland.
On June 1, FedEx released a statement against social injustice, stating, “there is absolutely no place for racism or unequal treatment anywhere, and we must unequivocally speak out and reject it when we see it.”
Investors wrote that FedEx’s continued sponsorship “association with and facilitation of the racism inherent in the name and logo, runs contrary to the very sentiments expressed by the company.”
FedEx responded to AdWeek by saying they direct any questions about the team name to owner Dan Snyder.
The letter to PepsiCo compared the company’s decision to sunset the Aunt Jemima brand as “meaningful step.” Investors ask the brand to continue that commitment by divesting from racist mascots by ending its relationship with the Redskins.
There has been pressure for decades for the Redskins to change their name. In 2013, Snyder vowed “We’ll never change the name.”
However, there’s focus increase on the team’s name that is considered a racial slur by many following heightened awareness of racism and racial injustice.
The origin of the team’s name goes back to founder George Preston Marshall. He renamed the team in 1933, four years prior to its move from Boston to DC.
Marshall garnered a reputation for bigotry, as he attempted to keep the NFL from integration of Black players. In fact, Washington was the last NFL team to integrate in 1962, 16 years after the NFL first integrated.
The Redskins have recently removed Marshall from its history, stadium and website. However, that may not be enough to subdue pressure calling for the team to change its name.
