Dan Snyder's once-touted Native American foundation

FOUNDATION:Dan Snyder's once-touted Native American foundation has gone dark

For Washington, Monday's change marks the end of an 87-year stretch under the name. The franchise, which was originally based in Boston, switched to "Redskins" from Braves in July 1933. Owner George Preston Marshall moved the team to Washington a little less than four years later.

A view of a Washington Redskins helmet before the game between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins at AT&T Stadium.

Snyder, 55, purchased the team in 1999 and has defied calls to change the name since.

For years, the billionaire argued that the "Redskins" moniker was a meaningful part of the team's history, one that dates back to the early days of the NFL and includes three Super Bowl titles. He pointed to favorable polls, which he equated to proof that most Native Americans do not find the name offensive. Publicly, he declined to so much as even entertain the idea of rebranding the team.

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"I think that the Redskins fans understand the great tradition and what it's all about and what it means," Snyder told USA TODAY Sports in 2013.

Meanwhile, the chorus calling for change has grown, particularly in recent years.

There was a renewed — and, ultimately, unsuccessful — legal push to revoke the team's trademarks in the past decade, on the grounds that the name is disparaging to Native Americans. Several high schools moved to abandon the name and find new monikers for their sports teams. And well-known figures, including then-President Barack Obama in 2015, have publicly urged Washington to make a change.

Then, in May, the death of George Floyd brought increased attention to issues of racial injustice across American society — including within the NFL.

As the league took steps to condemn racism, many began to wonder: What about Washington's team name?

With pressure continuing to swell, Snyder and his associates began having conversations with the league office about the name. FedEx — which holds the naming rights to Washington's home stadium, and counts its CEO among the team's minority owners — released a statement in which it requested the name be changed. Two other top sponsors, Nike and PepsiCo, soon followed.

Less than 24 hours after FedEx first made its stance known, the team announced it would be undergoing a "thorough review" of its name and logo. And on Monday, after decades of scrutiny, Washington's NFL franchise took its first official step toward adopting a new moniker.

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