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Amazon Becomes Latest Retailer to Drop Redskins Merchandise

Amazon Becomes Latest Retailer to Drop Redskins Merchandise

Amazon.com Inc. is the latest retailer to cut Washington Redskins merchandise from its site, joining Walmart Inc., Target Corp. and Nike Inc. in casting out a team name that contains a racial slur.

The e-commerce giant told sellers they had 48 hours to review and remove Redskins products flagged by Amazon, according to a letter reviewed by Bloomberg. Amazon, through a spokeswoman, declined to comment beyond confirming that it notified sellers on Wednesday. The merchandise included T-shirts, hats and other gear.

For years, activists have lobbied the NFL’s Redskins to change their name, a pejorative term for Native Americans. But efforts gained momentum during the weeks of unrest that followed the police killing of George Floyd, an incident that spurred a broader discussion on race and injustice in the U.S.

Dan Snyder, the owner of the team, said last week that the organization is now reviewing the name. FedEx Corp., which holds the naming rights to the team’s stadium in Landover, Maryland, had urged the Redskins to make a change. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell also said the league was “supportive of this important step.”

Walmart cited those remarks when it pulled its Redskins merchandise last week.

Nike was the first of the big retailers to dump Redskins products. Even before the team made their announcement Friday, the merchandise was gone from Nike’s website.

CNBC previously reported on Amazon dropping the products.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.