New Edmonton Elks owner may want to rename the team again

The Edmonton Elks are getting a new owner, and with it may come another name change.

After reports this morning that the CFL has approved a new owner for the Elks — rumoured to be local construction businessman Larry Thompson — it seems as though the new ownership might be eager to restore the team to its original identity of the “Edmonton Eskimos.”

This report comes from Edmonton Sports Talk’s Dustin Nielson, who posted on social media that he has heard there is a desire from new ownership to go back to the “Eskimos” name or simply “Esks” over the next couple of years.

Very intrigued for the Elks press conference on Thursday introducing Larry Thompson as the new owner.

I’ve heard there will be a desire to rebrand over the next 1-2 years to Esks or back to Eskimos.

— Dustin Nielson (@nielsonTSN1260) August 13, 2024

Edmonton’s CFL team played under the “Eskimos” name between 1949 and 2020. The name came under fire in 2020 as it was considered to be an offensive term to refer to Canada’s northern Indigenous Inuit population.

Eventually, pressure from larger sponsors such as Boston Pizza, Belair Direct, and Sports Interaction persuaded the team to drop all use of the term in the summer of 2020. The football team temporarily rebranded to the “EE Football Team” before they decided on “Elks” as the new team name in 2021.

This occurred at around the same time similar rebrands were occurring in both the MLB and NFL due to names that had offensive connotations toward Indigenous people.

The move was supported by Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, a non-profit organization that represents over 65,000 Inuit people in Canada. Legendary Edmonton quarterback Warren Moon also came out in support of the name change.

If new ownership truly desires to return to this old name, it may come at the expense of some of their existing sponsors, notably those who initially pressured the team to make the name change.

Thompson is expected to be introduced as the Elks’ new owner on Thursday morning.

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