Another Washington sports team set the tone for a nickname change

In the land of presidents, there is precedent for changing the inappropriate nickname of a professional sports team

Dan Snyder has referred to his Washington football team’s handle as a “badge of honor.” Changing it to something that doesn’t inspire ire racist overtones, and controversy would be honorable. All he has to do is look at what the late Abe Pollin did with the nickname of his NBA team.

For decades, the Washington NBA team wore the handle “Bullets.” Pollin became uncomfortable with it for a number of reasons, including the assassination of his friend, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

The Washington Post wrote about other issues/reasons that sparked the change from to Wizards:

Sports Illustrated wrote that Pollin “didn’t want to contribute to Washington’s reputation for violent crime.” USA Today said it was because “gun violence is at epidemic level in far too many parts of this country.” The New York Times said Pollin changed the name “after his friend Yitzhak Rabin, Israel’s prime minister, was shot to death.” The AP said it was “because of the violent connotation.” The New York Post said it was “in reaction to violent crime in Washington.” Mike Wise said it was “to honor the memory of his friend, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was assassinated.” Mike Lee said it was “after his friend, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, was gunned down.” Christine Brennan said it was because Pollin “was so concerned about violence in the D.C. streets.” The Dallas Morning News said it was “in deference to the high gun violence rate in Washington.”

Team management addressed its history when two of its players were suspended for incidents involving guns in the locker room last decade.

The NBA announced today that they have suspended Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton for the remainder of the season. We understand and fully support their decision.

Both players violated D.C. laws and NBA rules by bringing guns into the locker room. Their poor judgment has also violated the trust of our fans and stands in contrast to everything Abe Pollin stood for throughout his life. It is widely known that Mr. Pollin took the extraordinary step of changing the team name from “Bullets” to “Wizards” in 1997 precisely to express his abhorrence of gun violence in our community. We hope that this negative situation can produce something positive by serving as a reminder that gun violence is a serious issue.

More from the Post:

Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated in November of 1995. And yet the reporting on a possible name change began in May, shortly after the Bullets ended another miserable season …

Washington Bullets owner Abe Pollin said yesterday that he’ll decide this summer whether to change the name of his team out of sensitivity to the number of gun-related deaths in the area. He indicated no final decision has been made, but his comments suggest he’s leaning toward dropping the name the franchise has carried for the past 31 years, including the past 22 in Washington.

“We’re considering that,” Pollin said. “We haven’t made a final decision. In the old days, our motto was Faster than a speeding Bullet.’ That’s how we were envisioned in Baltimore. Today the connotation is a little different. It’s connected with so many horrible things that people do with guns and bullets. I don’t know. We’re considering it. We’ll make a decision this summer.”

The New York Times’ George Vecsey spoke to Pollin, who discussed the topic at length:

“I’ve thought about it for 31 years….Bullets connote killing, violence, death,” Pollin said. “Our slogan used to be, ‘Faster than a speeding bullet.’ That is no longer appropriate.”

The nickname has a glorious history in professional basketball. The original Baltimore Bullets (1947-54) echoed, alliteratively, the tradition of the Old Shot Tower, still standing in Baltimore, a 234-foot brick shaft built in 1828, where molten lead was cooled in tanks of water, producing bullets for war and peace.

But the American love of guns has long since got out of hand. Children have guns. Children are being killed by bullets. The current basketball team was named on June 4, 1963, after the Packers/Zephyrs moved from Chicago to Baltimore. I can remember going to games in downtown Baltimore and hearing the sound effects of a rifle being fired when Earl (the Pearl) Monroe performed the dipsey-doo.

“I’ve had people say I was changing the name just to make money from a new nickname, new colors, a new logo,” Pollin said. “I find that distasteful. It’s not a question of money.”…

“It was a peace gathering. He was about to leave, but he walked back again. They were rejoicing for peace. I walked those steps. I realized it was time to get this done.”

And getting around to how the name change was accomplished:

The ensuing contest was indeed run through Boston Market, and the restaurant reportedly received 500,000 name suggestions involving around 3,000 separate names …

The finalists–chosen by a panel that included Pollin, Susan O’Malley, George Michael, Juwan Howard and others–were Sea Dogs, Express, Stallions, Dragons and Wizards. Fans had three weeks to vote among the five finalists via a 1-900 line; the $1 cost was given to anti-violence efforts.

Now, there is a collective movement for social change and to end racial injustice. Snyder isn’t being singled out. He would be stepping up by changing the nickname from its current racist association.

The late, great Chris Chase, a USA Today sports columnist and founding member of its For The Win, wrote about options in 2014. The debate is percolating, more like boiling over, as major corporations such as FedEx and Nike have thrown their weight in the discussion seeking change.

Chase loved the name Washington Football Club. He described the fit this way:

The Washington Football Club would be a trailblazing name for a major American sports team. All other teams have nicknames. Washington would be the first to go that route. It sounds cool, even if it has the stuffy pretentiousness of soccer. It also doesn’t alienate the many fans who will be upset at the change (and there will be many), the fans who have spent thousands of dollars over the past few decades accumulating Redskins gear. In Snyder’s eyes, it could allow the name to live on, if only in absentia.

What else could Snyder use his creative team to come up with for the present and future? Heck, he could open the ideas to the fan base, too, and come up with some kind of clever contest. The winner gets lifetime season ticket or maybe a season’s worth of tickets.

Here are some other possibilities:

Warriors, which is trending and trendy. It’s also not unique as the basketball team in Northern California will tell you.

Renegades

Redtails

Whale

Walrus

Citizens

Power

Wolverines

Presidents

Monuments

Washingtonians

Hogs

Defenders

Dragons

The Wish

The last one is probably what many hope Snyder grants to end this controversy once and for all.