The Edmonton Eskimos will have a new team name.
TSN’s Ryan Rishaug reports: Sources tell TSN an internal decision has been made, the Edmonton Eskimos will be changing their name. An announcement could come as early as next week.
The Eskimos have 12 current premier corporate partners. Belairdirect delivered an ultimatum to the franchise and Sports Interaction joined them. Meanwhile, there was pressure from the Inuit community led by Nunavut member of parliament Mumilaaq Qaqqaq.
It wasn’t long ago, Friday, July 3, to be exact, the Eskimos stated the team would not be changing its moniker. Siting the fact the club has spent time up north consulting with members of the Inuit community and found there was “no consensus” among Inuit regarding their name.
After Belairdirect stated concrete action in the near future was needed, including a name change, the Esks shifted their stance. The Eskimos followed by announcing the franchise was accelerating its ongoing internal review of their team name and sent a survey to fans regarding a potential name change.
Edmonton’s CFL franchise won’t be known as the Eskimos anymore. Remember: the team trademarked the name “Edmonton Empire” in 2018.
