MINNEAPOLIS — The big sports announcement everyone is talking about.
The NFL’s Washington franchise announced it will change its Redskins name and logo.
The team released a statement Monday morning saying the decision was made following a thorough review that began on July 3rd.
"Redskins" has long been denounced by Native American groups as an ethnic slur. No new name was announced.
The team itself may be in Washington D.C., but there is a group of Native American activists in Minnesota who have been heavily involved in the movement to change the team’s name.
On Monday afternoon, a few dozen native and black leaders gathered at the American Indian Center in Minneapolis to celebrate.
"Of all the teams, we needed to get rid of the Redskins first. And we stood up against them in this city first,” civil rights activist Spike Moss says.
When the Super Bowl came to Minnesota in 1992, black and native leaders banded together, about 200 strong, to protest the Washington team coming to town.
Fast forward to 2014, Washington returned to Minnesota, and the group of protesters grew to more than 5,000.
Lifelong native activist Clyde Bellecourt was among them and says he’s been fighting for native rights since the 1960’s.
“I didn’t know when or if we would see this day,” Bellecourt says. "We found out in the last few weeks the only thing that matters is money. It’s unfortunate it’s that way, but that’s the way it is and now we’re asking them to put that money into our communities.”
Bellecourt says money was definitely the deciding factor in the Washington case.
He thanked corporate sponsors FedEx, Amazon, Nike and others for standing up for what is right and using their financial influence to force a change.
Bellecourt says the decision also came on the heels of a nationwide racial movement that started in Minneapolis with the death of George Floyd.
“We support Black Lives Matter, but I’m here to say native lives matter, too. The two have always gone hand in hand and we’re looking to further strengthen that bond,” Bellecourt says.
While many native leaders and activists, including Minnesota Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan don't fully support the financial motives behind the change, they say it's at least a step in the right direction.
"There are many more teams that we have left to go,” Flanagan says. “And it goes far beyond sports teams and mascots. Even the images we see in the capitol of the state of Minnesota keep us stuck in the past. There’s so much left to do.”