UPDATE: Despite Tanya Snyder’s comments, a Washington spokesperson denied that the eight names rattled off in an ESPN interview are the final candidates for the team’s new name, repeating a similar claim from team President Jason Wright that the monikers were from a team-produced video.
Clarification: A WFT spokesperson said this morning that the list of eight names is a selection of names that were highlighted in their Making the Brand video, not a final list of potential name candidates. https://t.co/GpzvFMvvcH
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 8, 2021
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Washington co-CEO Tanya Snyder seemed to confirm the eight finalists for the team’s new name in a recent interview with ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The list has since been narrowed down to three names, though she didn’t reveal which ones.
On Schefter’s podcast, Snyder confirmed that the eight names in the running were: the Armada, Presidents, Brigade, RedHogs, Commanders, Redwolves, Defenders and the Washington Football Team (the team’s current moniker).
“I think those are the candidates, right?” Schefter said, rattling off those names.
“That’s right,” Snyder said. “Has that been said?”
“That’s been said, yes,” Schefter replied.
Except Schefter was wrong when saying those names had emerged as the final candidates. Team president Jason Wright previously denied a report that those were the names — which appeared in a team-produced video that showed fans reacting to them.
“Just to be clear, because everyone keeps asking, we are down to and working through a final three but this is no form of (the) final 8 list,” Wright tweeted Aug. 19. “These are just a selection of names that happened to show up in the video our team produced.”
But on the podcast that was published Tuesday, Snyder said “that’s right” when asked whether those names were the candidates.
A request for comment to the Washington Football Team has not been returned.
Snyder was promoted to co-CEO just prior to the NFL fining Washington $10 million after a year-long investigation into claims in which more than 40 women said they were sexually harassed while working for the team. She took over day-to-day operations from her husband Dan Snyder, the team’s owner who voluntarily agreed to step away for several months.
Washington is in search of a permanent name after it retired its Redskins moniker in July 2020. The team rebranded to the Washington Football Team while it completes a full rebranding process.
The team hired an outside marketing agency to help with the process. Washington received more than 40,000 submissions from fans on what the next name should be.
“It has been handled extremely professional,” Snyder said of the rebrand. “I’ve looked at each and every name, just making sure we did not miss a great one. There’s were so many different reasons that so many names fell out, too. You know, legal (conflicts). And we vetted everything, the organization, the agency did.
“We are looking at the rollout date, relatively soon. We just have to do the timing with the merchandise … and so many other things that are important.”
Washington plans to unveil the name in early 2022.
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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