Exeter Chiefs to rebrand controversial Native American theme in July 2022

The Chiefs will now be linked to the Domnurii tribe of Devon as opposed to the Native Americans
Controversial logo to be dropped in July 2022Controversial logo to be dropped in July 2022
Controversial logo to be dropped in July 2022

The Premier League Rugby club Exeter Chiefs is set to undergo a rebranding where they will lose their controversial Native American theme.

The club is set to keep the historical name, the Chiefs, but their logo will be changed at the end of the 2021 season.

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The Union club has previously been criticised for using the association with campaigners arguing that the club relied on ‘dehumanising’ stereotypes.

Exeter have since said that they have been ‘willing to listen’ and that they are ‘ready to invoke change’

Many clubs around the world faced criticism for using names which relied on such stereotypes.

The American Football club the Washington Football Team went through their own rebranding in 2020, following the Black Lives Matter movement.

Washington Football Team will reveal new name and logo in February 2022Washington Football Team will reveal new name and logo in February 2022
Washington Football Team will reveal new name and logo in February 2022
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Formerly known as the Washington Redskins, the team hired former Carolina Panthers head coach, Ron Rivera in the same role as well as naming Jason Wright as team president - the first black person named to that position in NFL history.

The name was changed from the Redskins to the Washington Football Team and the logo that had been used from 1937, depicting a Native American was changed into a dramatic W.

A new logo had long been in the making as well as a rebranding of the Native American headdresses worn by some fans and the changing of Sandy Park’s ‘Wigwam Bar’.

Early in January 2022, the National Congress of American Indians - the largest US group representing NAtive Americans - sent an open letter to the club, urging them to change their branding.

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The ‘Big Chief’ mascot was officially retired in July 2020 but the club decided against a full rebranding at that time.

While keeping the name Chiefs, Exeter are now rebranding themselves in line with the ‘Celtic Iron Age Dumnonii Tribe’. The Dumnonii Tribe lived in Cornwall, Devon and parts of Somerset before the Roman Occupation in 43 AD.

This new rebranding is set to be used from July 2022.

The Chairman and Chief Executive of Exeter, Tony Rowe OBE has said in a club statement: “We are excited to welcome in the next era of rugby within Exeter. Exeter has and always will be the most important term in our overall identity.

“The term ‘Chiefs’, however, is equally entrenched in our make-up, going back to over a century ago when teams in that region would regularly call their first teams that of ‘the Chiefs’.

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“As a rugby club we have been willing to listen, we have consulted far and wide, and now we are ready to invoke change. This is a new direction for our great club, but equally it’s an exciting vision that I’ve no doubt will propel us onwards and upwards over time.”

Exeter Chiefs for Change has also released a statement saying that their faith in their club has been ‘restored’.

“We are overwhelmed with excitement at the new identity for the club - one that celebrates Devon’s own rich history and gives us even more reason to be proud of our club and our region.

“Exeter Chiefs can now put the controversy behind them as we focus on moving onwards and upwards to the next great era in the club’s history.

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“The club has always been so much more than its branding: there was a long history before the Native branding and there will be a long future after it.”

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