The hearts of several Washington fans were broken Tuesday morning when WFT team president Jason Wright said one popular choice for the team’s new name was no longer under consideration.
Over the past 18 months, many Washington fans were hopeful the team’s new nickname would be “RedWolves” or “Wolves.” On Tuesday, Wright said any variation of “Wolves” was off the table, citing legal concerns, via his “President’s Brief” on Washington’s official website.
Early on we understood Wolves — or some variation of it — was one of our fan favorites. As I’ve said all along, we take feedback from our fans seriously, and because of your interest in this name, we put Wolves on a list of options to explore fully. Once we began looking into Wolves, however, we became aware of a notable challenge: trademarks held by other teams would limit our ability to make the name our own. And without Wolves, variations like RedWolves wouldn’t have been viable either for these and other reasons.
As you might expect, this didn’t go over well with a portion of Washington’s fanbase. But, while many loved “RedWolves,” a large contingent expressed relief that it was no longer an option.
While Wright, head coach Ron Rivera and others in the organization can claim the new name will unite fans, there is no name available that can unite fans. This is 2022. Someone will complain about something. It’s a lock.
Longtime Washington-area sportswriter Rick Snider gave more detail as to why “Wolves” was not an option, citing the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves as the hurdle for Washington or any other NFL team seeking any variation of “Wolves” in a team nickname.
Rick Snider’s Washington explains why the Washington Football Team won’t be called wolves. Gimme two minutes. pic.twitter.com/vdoupdHhKl
— Rick Snider’s Washington (@Snide_Remarks) January 4, 2022
Now that we know “Redwolves” is no longer an option, let’s look at some of the top reactions from Twitter Tuesday.
Cool with Commanders or Admirals. Just glad all the Wolves shit was eliminated
— Marshall (@MWharam7) January 5, 2022
My best guess at the upcoming uniform release, based on what we’ve seen.
What do y’all think the team name will be?#WFT #WashingtonFootball pic.twitter.com/2eOMbEddBf
— The Graphic God (@TheGraphicGod_) January 4, 2022
Redwolves crowd still sleeping or in school.
— Hogfarmer Keith
(@Kgskins26) January 4, 2022
#RedWolves had a lot going for it, but the truth is there is no perfect new name for #WashingtonFootball. Every option is flawed in some way. There is no magic bullet for the #WFT other than winning games.
— Al Galdi (@AlGaldi) January 4, 2022
Redwolves Twitter: pic.twitter.com/a6tV8xeoy6
— Not Robert Griffin (@Pseudo_RGIII) January 4, 2022
Announcing that it won’t be the Redwolves is smart. It will give these frat boys a month to get over it.
— steve (@StevieWFT) January 4, 2022
Moment of silence for the thousand of twitter accounts changing their names from RedWolves#1Fan pic.twitter.com/lER81n0f1B
— Bucket (@Bucket_WFTFan) January 4, 2022
lol them people that bought custom Redwolves gear about to go through a grieving process…not sure why people got so attached to a name
— Dre (@DCSportsDre) January 4, 2022
1pm and Redwolves fans still trying to take it all in… pic.twitter.com/pAXUKNHjGF
— Bacon Mayfield (@bigsnack14) January 4, 2022
If it’s not RedWolves or RedHawks, and they refuse Warriors (when it fits perfectly) for stupid reasons, then let’s just make it: pic.twitter.com/Ok3zT1PIlF
— Coach Capps (@JasonACapps) January 5, 2022
Elon musk should buy the Washington football team and name it the RedWolves https://t.co/2S1d7Yk4Fb
— Eric Montez (@AirRickRoseIn) January 5, 2022