The football team formerly known as the Redskins, has expended much effort and money trying to get their once large fanbase to embrace their new nickname, the Commanders.
However, in addition to large segments of the fanbase, there’s another important piece of the team’s storied past who isn’t a fan of the new name, Super Bowl champion quarterback Mark Rypien.
In an interview on 106.7 The Fan in Washington, Rypien revealed that not only is the new name not growing on him, but it never will.
“No, it never will,” Rypien said when asked whether he was warming up t the new name, via Athlon Sports. “I never played for the Commanders. I absolutely support the Commanders and what they’re doing now. But I never played for them.
“It’s just this day and age now that we have to deal with. I just hope they don’t lose the fact that we were ‘Redskins.’ That’s all I played for. That’s what I knew, and that’s all we remember.”
Rypien, who played six years for the Redskins and was declared the MVP of the team’s Super Bowl XXVI triumph over the Buffalo Bills, made it clear that despite his reservations about the new name, he still supports the current players.
“We are going to support these guys because that’s the era we are in. I am not a Commanders’ legend. I am a Redskin. I love my guys,” he added.
“I want to support these guys, this team, and get this Commanders football team back to playing the type of football the Redskins played back in our era.”
The team’s former name became a casualty of the racial tumult and chaos of 2020 after George Floyd’s death. Then-team Owner Daniel Snyder changed the name to Commanders to appease sponsors who threatened to pull funding if the team did not change the name.
Snyder changed the name to Commanders but found himself on the outs regardless after his fellow owners united to force him out amid a sexual harassment investigation that engulfed the team.
While new Owner Josh Harris grew up a Redskins fan, he has made it clear that the retired nickname will remain retired.
“For obvious reasons, the old name can’t come back,” Harris said via The Athletic. “But right now, we’re focused on things to unify the team around our football team and unify the city around our football team. The first objective is we gotta start winning football games, and we need everyone supporting the team and not things that will drive people apart.
“Secondly, obviously, we’re trying to find a new home. Again, unifying (the) city around that is important, and so, the name is one of those things that have a lot of opinions … but I certainly haven’t forgotten about it. Like I said, I grew up here. So, I understand it.”
