BREAKING: Washington Redskins will announce new name tomorrow...

[brooklynite]

...per Washington Post

[Music Man]

1. My understanding is that they will be "retiring" the name tomorrow.

The decision on what to rename them will come later, I believe.

[greyl]

2. True.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142536250

[hlthe2b]

3. They have a name they want, but it is tied up in a trademark issue...

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

4. Yeah, I saw that also.

I can't begin to imagine why the name would be tied up in a trademark issue. Unless they are simply trying to take the name that is already in use by some other team, even in a different sport, I just can't imagine.

Personally, were I in charge of the new name, I'd want something that no one else has ever used. Not that I have any good ideas, mind you.

[hlthe2b]

5. Well, if they are going for "Warriors" as some have suggested...

they'd likely have issues coming from Golden State Warriors basketball...

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

7. I hadn't seen that specific suggestion,

but it's plausible.

Again, they're not asking me, but they really ought to go for something no one else is using.

The Washington Warthogs has a nice ring to it. Or the Washington Cucumbers. I mean, the possibilities truly are endless, so trying to poach a name already in use is dumb.

[StarfishSaver]

6. It could be tied up as a trademark for a product unrelated to football

Trademark trivia - did you know that "elevator" was originally a brand name for automatic lifts? But people started calling all lifts "elevators" and the company did not take action to protect it's trademark, so a Court ruled that it had lost the right to exclusive use of the name. And now "elevator" is a generic name for any automatic lifts.

That need to protect the mark - by putting people on notice that the term is a trademark and discouraging its use as a generic term is one reason you see advertisers use "brand" after certain products that people tend to describe generically... "Kleenex brand tissues" ... "Q-Tips brand cotton swabs" ... "Band-Aid brand bandages"

Xerox spent a lot of time and money discouraging people from using "Xerox" as a verb.

[Xolodno]

9. Washington Capitols?

The NHL team there has that name.

There is also the Senators, but that name belongs to the Ottawa Hockey Team.

Going to guess they are looking for something related to D.C.

[Zorro]

8. Washington Foreskins?

[PoliticAverse]

10. Washington Postskins? n/t

[ribrepin]

11. My former High School renamed their team the Red Hawks