WASHINGTON — Video game company Electronic Arts announced Friday that it would be removing the name and logo of Washington's NFL team from a soon-to-be-released game. Madden NFL 21, set to release on Aug. 25, will be altered so that it no longer includes any mention of the retired nickname and logo.
"We are pleased to see Washington's decision to change their team name and visual identity," an EA representative said in a statement. "We are quickly working to update Madden NFL 21 to feature a generic Washington team, while we await final word on the updated team name and logo design."
According to ESPN, the physical discs of the game are already in production so users who buy the physical game may still see the name and logo, but once they connect the game to the internet, the name and logo will be scrubbed.
Washington's team launched a “thorough review” of the name it had been using since 1933 on July 3, before officially retiring the name and logo on July 13.
A new name has not yet been announced, but Warriors, Red Wolves and Red Tails have emerged as the favorites among fans.
EA is not the only retailer to take a stance on the name and logo.
Amazon, Nike, Walmart, Target and Dick's Sporting Goods all stopped selling the team's gear, even before owner Dan Snyder announced the name would be changed. According to Adweek, 87 Investors and shareholders worth a collective $620 billion sent letters to Nike, FedEx and Pepsi Co asking the companies to cut ties with Washington’s NFL team unless they changed their name.
Advocates had been pushing for these changes for decades, but the pressure intensified amid the social and racial equality movements happening in the United States following the death of George Floyd in May.
Washington's football team is not the first D.C. team to have its name changed.
Washington's basketball team hit the hardwood as the "Wizards" in 1997 after thirty years of being known as the "Bullets."
Unlike the Redskins, corporate interests did not pressure Bullets owner Abe Pollin into changing his team's name.
Instead, Pollin felt the Bullets moniker was too violent. His friend, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, had just been assassinated. At the same time, D.C. also had a notorious reputation for its violent crime.