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Washington Redskins - Beginning as the Boston Braves in 1932 and then known as the Boston Redskins from 1933 to 1936, the team moved to Washington and kept the name. In 2020, they announced their decision to give up their logo and name following pressure from sponsors. 

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Washington Redskins - The term "redskin" is widely considered to be a racial slur and an extremely offensive term. The US Patent Office even revoked six trademarks associated with the team that included the term "redskin."

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Washington Redskins - Former President Barack Obama was also critical of the name, saying in 2013 to the Associated Press (via The Guardian) "If I were the owner of the team and I knew that the name of my team, even if they've had a storied history, that was offending a sizable group of people, I'd think about changing it."

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Cleveland Indians -

The Major League Baseball team formerly known as the Cleveland Indians have finally caught up with the times and changed their name. They announced their intention to make the change in December of 2020, after 105 years as the "Indians." Like many US sports teams with names that reference Native Americans, they have come under increasing pressure to choose a more inclusive nickname and remove offensive caricatures from their logos. 

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Cleveland Indians - Since 1947, the emblem portrayed a stereotypical Indigenous American face.

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Cleveland Indians - It has been criticized in the past by various Native American groups, social scientists, and educational and religious groups.

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Cleveland Indians - The Indians introduced a letter “C” insignia as a replacement, and have finally changed their name to the Cleveland Guardians as of 2021. 

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Chicago Blackhawks - The NHL team sports a Native American man with face paint and feathers in his hair on its jerseys.

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Chicago Blackhawks - The logo has been voted and considered one of the finest in sports for its detail.

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Chicago Blackhawks - Toronto-based sports writer Damien Cox called out the team in 2010, saying it was time for a change.

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Chicago Blackhawks - “Clearly, no right-thinking person would name a team after an aboriginal figure these days any more than they would use Muslims or Africans or Chinese or any ethnic group to depict a specific sporting notion,” he wrote in the Toronto Star.

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Chicago Blackhawks - Despite the pressure to reconsider the image, there is no plan to change the logo.

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Edmonton Eskimos -

After a survey was launched in late July, the Canadian Football League's Edmonton Eskimos may soon change their name as well.

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Halifax Explosions - An online group that backs the bid for a Halifax CFL team sparked debate after a proposed name for the sports group: The Halifax Explosions.

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Halifax Explosions - The title is in reference to an actual explosion that occurred in the Canadian city in 1917, which killed approximately 2,000 people. Naturally, the suggested name was met with immediate backlash online.

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Halifax Explosions - "You want to profit off the deaths of 2,000 people? It's in really poor taste," said one Twitter user, according to CBC.

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Halifax Explosions - The CFL stated (via CBC) that while it appreciates the enthusiasm of the fans behind these online accounts, they have no actual affiliation with the creative group.

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Halifax Xplosions - Interestingly, there is a women's tackle football team in Halifax named the Halifax Xplosions.

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Coachella Valley High School - It is not just professional sports teams and leagues with horribly disrespectful logos and mascots.

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Coachella Valley High School - In 2013, a southern California high school caught some heat for their mascot and logo depicting an angry “Arab” man, complete with a beard, mustache, big nose, and wearing a keffiyeh. At the school’s sports games, the mascot would even make an appearance alongside a belly-dancing genie.

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Coachella Valley High School - After complaints from the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the school decided to keep their name, the Mighty Arabs, but retire the mascot and genie. They also updated the logo to something less stereotypical.

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Coachella Valley High School -

The new face of the high school shows a philosophic-looking man with a neatly trimmed beard and headscarf. The new changes were met with approval from the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

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Nepean Redskins - A small Ottawa, Canada youth football club was once called the Nepean Redskins.

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Nepean Redskins - A former member of music group A Tribe Called Red got the team to change its name following a human rights complaint he filed in 2013.

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Nepean Redskins -

The man responsible for the name change was Ian Campeau, former front man for the group. He left the music group in late 2017 to pursue advocacy work.

See also: Tackling the NFL's craziest controversies.

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