Because of building pressure and threats from sponsors to bow out on the season, another team has taken a tribal nickname away from their franchise. This time, the Canadian Football League’s Edmonton Eskimos announced that they will be dropping their “Eskimos” nickname and will change it. 

For now, their nickname will just be the “Edmonton Football Team” which is a similar move to the Washington Football Team made after dropping the nickname “Redskins” from their franchise. They will also go by the "EE Football Team."

Team Statement 

Edmonton Football Team Primary Logo 2021 - Present

"Our team has a long history of winning - both on and off the field - and we will continue to do so going forward," said Janice Agrios, Chair of the Board of Directors, per TSN. "We feel it is important to make this change in response to the findings of our recent engagement and research. Going forward, we want the focus to be on the work we do in the community and our team's excellence on the field as the CFL's most successful franchise."

Public Pressure

There were reports that a name change was on the way after much scrutiny that the nickname was offensive to the Inuit People. Sponsors that help fuel the team’s financial stability threatened to pull out of the upcoming season if the name was not changed. 

Of course, Edmonton was not the only team that had to make a decision like this recently. The Redskins, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Cleveland Indians, and many schools in the NCAA have been in long talks with different Tribal Groups that have asked that they change their team names as the monikers or mascots do not fairly and appropriately represent who they are as people. 

The Cleveland Indians also announced recently that they will be changing their name from the Indians to something else and will no longer be named the “Indians.” It was only a matter of time before Edmonton needed to change its name to adapt to the way social movements are moving. Many of the major teams that are not partnered with different tribes, like the Florida State Seminoles, will be changing their team names before long, and Edmonton did a smart thing by getting ahead of it. 

Fan Reaction

This is obviously a hot-button issue, especially on social media. Anytime that a team conforms to public pressure over something like a team name, there are bound to be different reactions from both sides of the aisle. 

This fan in particular was not happy with what happened with the Edmonton name and thinks removing the name Eskimos is not necessary. 

https://twitter.com/BradTho46956967/status/1338544685040750593

This fan had a more creative reaction and thought that it would be a good idea to help Edmonton choose a new team name himself. 

“Names like:  "Edmonton Express, Edmonton Earthshakers, Edmonton Enforcers, Edmonton Eclipse, Edmonton Elites, Edmonton Elk-horns." If the EE is not important, then a name like "Edmonton Huskies" might be appropriate with both the indigenous community and fan base.”

See the Edmonton Football Team logo history and team history.