Amazon will stop selling Washington Redskins merchandise after the football team said it would undergo a review of its name, which is considered a racial slur, the AP reports. The Seattle-based online shopping giant informed sellers Wednesday morning that it would be pulling Redskins merchandise from its online marketplace. Other major retailers, including Walmart, have also stopped selling the team's merchandise. The recent national conversation on race has renewed opposition to the name, prompting its sponsors to speak up. The name review, which the team announced last week, could lead to a name change.
On Wednesday, Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson commended Amazon for “taking this swift action to support this long overdue change.” Earlier in the day, Ferguson published a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos pressing the company to drop the team’s merchandise. Also Wednesday, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said he believes the name of the team, which plays in his state, “probably should be changed." He supported the team's name when he ran for governor in 2014, the AP reports. "It’s got a lot of history associated with the name, but I understand it’s a hurtful name, and in today’s context it probably should be changed," said Hogan, a moderate Republican and a critic of President Trump, on Today. (Needless to say, Trump is not a fan of the name change idea.)