Without any official statement or moral chest thumping, the Eagles appear to have taken a stand against Washington’s team name. When the media guide was distributed this week, the cover billed the game as “Philadelphia vs. Washington.” That was in contrast to the first three games, which featured media guides that mentioned the Eagles playing the Falcons, Cowboys and Jets. (The omission was first noticed by NJ.com.)
Chip Kelly fielded a question about the organization’s tacit decision to refrain from using the name during Thursday’s press conference at the NovaCare Complex. Specifically, Kelly was asked whether “Redskins” is an appropriate name for an NFL team.
Kelly paused for a moment before answering.
“I have a lot of personal beliefs on things,” Kelly said. “But my belief doesn’t affect what that name is. They can do what they want to do.”
The Eagles had no official comment.
This week’s media guide isn’t totally devoid of the name “Redskins.” The term appears in the players’ bios, but those bios are re-used week-to-week. For comparison, in Week 1, “Falcons” appeared nearly 20 times in the front of the media guide. “Cowboys” and “Jets” were also employed in the front of the Week 2 and Week 3 guides, respectively. “Redskins” is notably absent from Week 4’s version.
The Eagles official Twitter account also hasn’t used “Redskins” yet this week. In the run-up to their meeting with New York, the account tweeted “Jets” several times.
On the team website, the Eagles appear to be using Washington predominantly, though there was at least one story that employed “Redskins” when quoting a Philadelphia player who said the word.
Washington’s team name has been the subject of endless debate and controversy for some time. Among other groups, politicians have called for the name to be changed. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has previously defended the name, while Washington owner Daniel Snyder has sworn to “never change the name.”
(Update, 3:40 p.m.: The Eagles have apparently changed many of their web site's references from "Washington" back to "Redskins." The Eagles still haven't officially addressed the situation.)