Amazon will stop selling Washington Redskins merchandise ahead of possible name change
Amazon is pulling Washington Redskins merchandise from their online marketplace.
The announcement comes after the team indicated it was reviewing a possible name change, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league was supportive of the review.
According to a notice distributed to sellers on Amazon, and first published by CNBC, the company said they are removing all products with the Redskins logo and name, and gave sellers just a few days to remove items.
Washington State Attorney General sent a letter to Amazon asking for the team products to be removed. Amazon is based in Seattle.
UPDATE: After sending the letter, Amazon informed us that it will begin pulling merchandise featuring the racial slur that serves as a profession football team name. We commend Amazon for taking this swift action to support this long overdue change.
— Washington State Attorney General (@AGOWA) July 8, 2020
The team’s name has come under fire before, many believe the term is a slur against Native Americans. This year there was mounting public pressure on the team and sponsors. Last week, 87 investment firms and shareholders signed on to letters to FedEx, PepsiCo and Nike requesting they terminate their relationships with the team unless they change their name.
FedEx, who owns naming rights to the team’s stadium, publicly asked owners to change the name.
Amazon’s decision to pull team products follows similar decisions from Walmart, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Target earlier this week.
Given today’s announcement by the NFL and the Washington team’s ownership, we are discontinuing the sale of items that reference the team’s name and logo. https://t.co/LtT7m7H3we
— Walmart Inc. (@WalmartInc) July 3, 2020
