At some point before Thursday night, Nike pulled all merchandise bearing the name or logo of the Washington franchise from its website. The drop-down menu, in fact, deleted the franchise from the list of NFL teams.
On Friday, Nike issued a statement.
Via Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, the NFL’s official apparel provider said, “We have been talking to the NFL and sharing our concerns regarding the name of the Washington team. We are pleased to see the team taking a first step towards change.”
It did not elaborate about removing merchandise of the Washington team from its website.
FedEx and Pepsi also have issued statements encouraging owner Dan Snyder to change the team’s name.
The team issued a statement Friday, announcing it was conducting “a thorough review” of the name, and pressure from sponsors likely is what finally gets Snyder to do something he has vowed in the past he would never do.
As Nike’s most famous ad says, “Just do it.”