Pro sports teams are starting to get rid of racist names. Hundreds of U.S. high schools still have them

Washington has finally crumbled.

After multiple lawsuits, the loss of a trademark and even calls from former President Obama, Washington’s football team will change its name, despite owner Dan Snyder’s insistence he would “NEVER” do so.

The pressure has squeezed other professional teams as well. The Cleveland Indians, who retired their Chief Wahoo insignia for the 2019 season, are reevaluating their name. There have also been calls from fans for other teams to change their names, including MLB’s Atlanta Braves, NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs, NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks and NBA’s Golden State Warriors.

According to an L.A. Times analysis, there are at least 897 secondary schools across the U.S. that share their name with one of six professional teams mentioned above. Using the site mascotDB.com, a database that lists around 50,000 sports teams names, we looked at the six names shared by professional teams, and cross-referenced them with maxpreps.com, a site focused on high school athletics.

The most common name is “Indians,” which 423 schools have. This is followed by Warriors (we’ve included only the Warriors that reference indigenous culture in their branding), Chiefs, Redskins and then Blackhawks.

Many of these teams tend to be in states with little to no Tribal Lands. Three of the top five states with the most references — Ohio, Illinois, and Pennsylvania — have none.

Distribution of Native American names across high school teams

Indians 423

Warriors 210

Braves 105

Chiefs 71

Redskins 53

Blackhawks 35

Distribution of Native American names

across high school teams

Indians 423

Warriors 210

Chiefs 71

Redskins 53

Braves 105

Blackhawks 35

About 70 high schools, however, have already decided to change their names. Since 1990, a majority of those schools have changed from either “Indians” or “Redskins.”

There are multiple states that have introduced legislation to ban mascots. In 2015, California banned the use of the word “Redskin” for high school mascots, with four schools changing the mascot. Despite this ban, these schools were not banned from using Indigenous imagery, and fans can still wear apparel bearing the name to games.

Name changes from Indians and Redskins since 1990

1992

1999

2014

1st lawsuit against

trademark placed

Registration cancelled,

but is quickly overturned

Washington loses

trademark on name

Redskins

‘15

‘20

‘90

‘00

‘10

‘95

‘05

Indians

2014

Cleveland’s MLB team makes

“Block C” primary logo

2018

Cleveland’s MLB team removes

“Chief Wahoo” from uniform

Name changes from Indians and

Redskins since 1990

Indians

Redskins

‘90

1992

1st lawsuit against

trademark placed

‘95

1999

‘00

Registration

cancelled, but

is quickly

overturned

‘05

2014

Cleveland’s MLB

team makes

“Block C”

primary logo

‘10

2018

Cleveland’s

MLB team

removes

“Chief Wahoo”

from uniform

2014

‘15

Washington’s NFL

team loses

trademark

on name

‘20

Changing the names of teams because of controversy isn’t unusual. In 2005, the NCAA attempted to ban Native American mascots for 18 schools, with 10 schools changing their team names and mascots. Even fellow Washington teams are no stranger to controversy. The NBA’s Washington Bullets became the Wizards in 1997 due to its association with the city’s high crime rate in the 1990s.

Decisions made at the professional level often trickle down to the high school level. With Washington and Cleveland rethinking their team names, fans might see not only professional, but also high school teams, evaluating racism in their branding in the months to come.