Mark Rypien was the quarterback who led the then-Washington Redskins to the franchise’s last Super Bowl victory and appearance.
As the team has gone through rebranding since ditching the nickname, Rypien made clear during an appearance on 106.7 The Fan in Washington he is no fan of the Washington Commanders brand.
“No, it never will,” the former star quarterback said when asked whether the brand was growing on him, via Athlon Sports.
“I never played for the Commanders. I absolutely support the Commanders and what they’re doing now. But I never played for them.
“It’s just this day and age now that we have to deal with.
I just hope they don’t lose the fact that we were ‘Redskins.’ That’s all I played for.
That’s what I knew, and that’s all we remember.”
Rypien played six years for Washington and was a Pro Bowler twice.
He had 15,928 passing yards and 101 touchdown passes.
He helped the team defeat the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVI, 37-24. He was named Super Bowl MVP.
Former team owner Daniel Snyder changed the team’s name from the Redskins to the Washington Football Team before the start of the 2020 season amid a summer of racial tension across the United States.
He then rebranded the team as the Commanders.
Current team owner Josh Harris made clear that going back to the old name was not going to happen.
