By Frank Pingue

(Reuters) – The Washington Football Team, National Football League, announced Wednesday that the Commanders will replace their original name which many saw as a racial slur towards Native Americans.

Following a lengthy campaign by critics for years, the Redskins team decided to drop their previous name in mid 2020 amid calls for justice and threats of losing sponsors.

Commanders was created after an 18-month process. This included more than 4000 fan submissions and focus group meetings.

“As an organization, we are excited to rally and rise together as one under our new identity while paying homage to our local roots and what it means to represent the nation’s capital,” Team co-owner Dan Snyder said in a news release.

Snyder bought the franchise in 1999. He had long resist the public’s pressure to change the name and even went so far as to state that the club wouldn’t change its name.

The team was under increasing pressure from critics to alter its name, amid nationwide condemnation of racism and police brutality.

Snyder changed his mind after FedEx Corp. (NYSE:) urged him to change his position.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ) Nike (NYSE) They both followed FedEx’s lead and welcomed FedEx’s request to review the name of their team.

In 1932, the Boston Braves founded the team that would become the Redskins. They changed their name to Redskins in the next year, and moved to Washington in 37.

The team have won three Super Bowls and are one of the NFL’s marquee franchises, ranked by Forbes last August as the league’s fifth most valuable franchise at $4.2 billion.

Numerous American professional and college sports teams use Native American-themed nicknames. Both the Major League Baseball’s Atlanta Braves as well as the National Hockey League’s Chicago Blackhawks, have defended their identities.

MLB’s Cleveland franchise announced in July last year that it would change its name to Guardians from Indians, which was well received by Native American groups. Native Americans had always criticized the original name.