10 Sports Team Names That Caused Controversy

The Redskins and other teams bashed for their nicknames.

Washington Bullets - The Washington Bullets became the Washington Wizards in 1997, after the basketball team's owners wanted to distance the franchise from negative associations to gun violence. However, that name, too, caused a stir with some fans as the term Wizard is a rank within the Ku Klux Klan and the team was based in a city with a sizable African-American community. (Photo: NBA)
Atlanta Braves - The team's "screaming Indian" logo, featuring a mohawked Native American figure engaged in a battle cry, was retired in 1989. However, reports this past February confirmed the baseball team planned to bring the logo back for use on the team's batting-practice caps. The team ultimately decided to scrap the plans following a siege of criticism. (Photo: MLB)
Kansas City Chiefs - The Kansas City Chiefs are also part of the decades-long debate over whether drawing from Native American culture in sports is honorable or exploitative. Most notably, in 2005, Native American tribal groups protested outside Arrowhead Stadium in a game against the Redskins. (Photo: NFL)
London Rippers - Hailing from London, a city in Ontario, Canada, the London Rippers were bashed for both its name and logo, which critics said paid homage to the infamous serial killer known as Jack the Ripper. In the end, after just one season, financial shortfalls led to the dissolution of the baseball team in 2012. (Photo: Frontier League)Warriors Assistant Secretly Taped Talks - When Golden State Warriors assistant coach Darren Erman became the second assistant to be fired in two weeks earlier this month, the team would only cite a “violation of company policy” as the trigger. But according to ESPN, Erman was secretly recording conversations between the team's coaches and players. It’s unknown whether he was recording conversations for management or other teams as of yet.(Photo: NBA)

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Atlanta Braves - The team's "screaming Indian" logo, featuring a mohawked Native American figure engaged in a battle cry, was retired in 1989. However, reports this past February confirmed the baseball team planned to bring the logo back for use on the team's batting-practice caps. The team ultimately decided to scrap the plans following a siege of criticism. (Photo: MLB)

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