The non-profit Native American Guardians Association (NAGA) has threatened the newly renamed “Washington Commanders” with a boycott similar to that of Bud Light’s parent company Anheuser-Busch unless the American Football team reverts to its historic name, the ‘Washington Redskins.’
The organization has written a letter to the team’s new ownership demanding the opportunity to discuss reinstating the team’s name in a face-to-face meeting, citing lawsuits, polls, and general sentiment to suggest that Native Americans are not offended by the name, ‘Redskin.’ The organization has also launched a “Reclaim The Name” online petition that has attracted over 70,000 signatories so far. However, it has been routinely ignored.
NAGA, as a result, warned the football team that it is willing to appeal to the wider public for support, stating:
“Should we need to encourage a national boycott similar to what happened with Anheuser Busch which is now down $27 billion (note, not one brick thrown, not one highway blocked, not one bridge burned) – WE WILL DO JUST THAT.”
“We attempted to have an open dialogue with the now Washington Commanders since they made the name change several years ago… We felt that it was time to apply public pressure,” added NAGA’s President of Global Impact Campaigns, Healy Baumgardner.
Anheuser-Busch was boycotted after it promoted Bud Light with the controversial transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Bud Light is now so reviled by its customer base that the company even tried to give beer away but failed.