Washington Commanders Celebrate 92nd Birthday With Massive Organizational Change

The Washington Commanders are celebrating their 92nd year as a franchise Tuesday and they chose to do that by announcing a massive organizational change.

As the franchise continues to go through a massive shift from a branding perspective, they are changing an integral part of how they are seen by fans around the world.

The Washington Commanders are bringing back their classic gold pants

For the first time since the 2018 season, the Washington Commanders will be wearing gold pants. The last time the Commanders wore gold pants they still went by the “Washington Redskins.”

They officially ditched the “Redskins” moniker in 2020 and went by “Washington Football Team” until 2022. They changed their name to the Washington Commanders in 2022, yet they did not go back to wearing gold pants immediately.

Uniform closet is getting an upgrade 😮‍💨 #RaiseHail pic.twitter.com/7il3rs49ys

— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) July 9, 2024

Although the gold pants were worn with white jerseys as recently as 2016, they are only expected to be worn with the team’s home jerseys.

The Washington Commanders abandoned the gold pants before

2018 wasn’t the first time the Washington Commanders abandoned their iconic gold pants. After wearing them for over 40 years, the Commanders abandoned their gold pants in 1978.

The gold pants were worn as a part of a throwback uniform in 1994 and they were mixed in with the team’s alternate uniforms in the early 2000s. As the next decade came about, the gold pants became a part of the team’s primary uniform until they were abandoned for one last time in 2018.

While a simple change of pants color would be a minor offseason adjustment for any other team, it means a lot to a team that has undergone so much change in recent years. A call back to a time before the implosion of the Washington franchise as we knew it should provide some comfort for longtime fans of the organization.

The Washington Commanders are still trying to undergo a massive brand shift

The team, which is now under new ownership, is continuing to undergo a massive brand shift. Not only did the Commanders catch a lot of flack for a logo that was largely considered racist, but previous owner Dan Snyder was among the most hated owners in the NFL.

Snyder’s time as the Commanders’ owner, which was outlined by his cheap ways, was ridden with scandal. Snyder refused to budge when it came to changing the team’s name, but that was arguably the least problematic scandal that defined Snyder’s tenure as the owner of the Commanders.

According to a report from the Washington Post, 15 former female employees claimed they were sexually harassed during their time with the organization. More allegations continued to come out as investigations looked deeper into the “toxic” workplace created by Snyder.

More women came forward and one cheerleader even accused Snyder himself of sexually harassing her at a team dinner. Snyder was openly disliked by fellow owners, and the stink he created for the brand of the Washington Commanders is something that the current ownership group is trying to get rid of.

Leading manager of said ownership group, Josh Harris, explained that he loved the nostalgia brought about by the gold pants. in an article from CBS Sports.

“Obviously, I grew up in D.C. and I was there during the glory years, so I understand why fans love the former name,” Harris said last September, via Sports Illustrated. “But look, there was a portion of our fanbase that felt disrespected by the former name.

“Sports are supposed to bring people together and not be a distraction. I don’t want distractions. … I thought it was important that we end the conversation.”

Many Washington fans want the organization to go even further with the nostalgia.

Just go back to being called the Washington Redskins

— Marcus 🦍 (@CookedByMarcus) July 9, 2024

Think every Washington fan just wants yall to go back to being called the Redskins

— 𝐏𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐉𝐞𝐰𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 (@PapaJewSports) July 9, 2024

I love it. A solid step in the right direction.

— Brian James (@beammeupbrian) July 9, 2024

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