DEVILS LAKE, N.D. — A Native American group is suing the Washington Commanders, accusing team leadership of defamation and conspiracy when it comes to changing the team name. The lawsuit seeks over $1 million in damages from team ownership.
The Native American Guardians Association (NAGA) filed the lawsuit Monday in North Dakota, where the group is based. It names the Commanders, owner Josh Harris, employee Matthew Laux and the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) as defendants. The 20-page suit accuses the NFL team of defamation, after Laux reportedly called the NAGA a fake group, as well as conspiracy surrounding an online petition with more than 100,000 signatures calling for the team to go back to the old name.
That online petition says the new name is not best for the team.
"It lacks the uniqueness, emotional connection, and pride that our team's original name embodies," the petition reads. "The change to 'Commanders' dilutes our team's identity and weakens the connection with its devoted fanbase."
Last month, when that petition began gaining steam, WUSA9 asked Commanders Team President Jason Wright about how much conversation surrounding a name change has happened among the team's new owners.
"Plenty," Wright said, with a smile.
The name change process was a lengthy one, but Wright said that is not factoring in to any discussions so far.
"The work we put in is not an issue," Wright told WUSA9. "We're looking at everything, we're discussing everything. It doesn't matter what effort went in before, or any of that stuff. If it comes to discussing it, we'll discuss it."
Native American Guardians Association Project Manager Tony Andrews would like to see a return to the original team name.
Andrews cited several "Washington Post" studies, including one in 2016 that noted that 9 in 10 Native Americans are not offended by the original team name.
The lawsuit references that study as well, and says the original name, "carries deep cultural, historical, and emotional significance, honoring the bravery, resilience, and warrior spirit associated with Native American culture. It was never intended as a derogatory or offensive term but as a symbol of respect and admiration."
The suit accuses Harris of "erasing" that significance. It also says NCAI worked with Harris to in a conspiracy to essentially silence the results of the name change petition. The lawsuit points to a press release from NCAI praising the Commanders' ownership for sticking with the Commanders name.
"Whatever good work NCAI does, or does not do, it does not speak for Native Americans on a national scale," the lawsuit says.
"We should be listening to the Native Americans on the subject and not listening to the 10%," Andrews said in August. "Let's have a working group together, look at the facts, understand it and make the right decision."
In total, NAGA is seeking $400,000 for the count of defamation, $1 million for the count of civil conspiracy, and $200,000 for the count of conspiracy to violate civil rights.
Washington's football team announced its first name change in 2020. In July of that year, following renewed criticism of the team name in the wake of racial justice protests around the country after the murder of George Floyd, major sponsors FedEx and Nike called for a change.
With the franchise's stadium name in jeopardy and gear being removed from retail shelves, the organization announced in a statement they were undergoing a thorough review of the name. Following the review period, the Redskins name was officially retired on July 13, 2020, and the team temporarily rebranded as the Washington Football Team.
The official Commanders team name was announced on Feb 1, 2022.