Assignment 1

Should the Washington Wizards change their name from the Washington Bullets?

Submitted to
Dr. Ashley Newell

Submitted By
Syed Akbar Jamil

Virginia International University

FALL 2015
School of Business
MBA 611 Business Ethics & Law

The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington,
D.C.. They are part of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference in the National
Basketball Association (NBA). The team plays their home games at the Verizon Center, in
the Chinatown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Washington Wizards founded in 1961.

History

Chicago Packers
19611962
Chicago Zephyrs
19621963
Baltimore Bullets
19631973
Capital Bullets
19731974
Washington Bullets
19741997
Washington Wizards
1997present

In 1997, The Washington Bullets became the Washington Wizards (though not directly due to
the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, as many believe). Wizards, a corny nickname with no
local significance, hasnt really caught on among the citys passionate basketball fans. But it
wont change back to Bullets for two main reasons:

1. Most fans have passively accepted Wizards as the teams nickname.

2. Gilbert Arenas infamously brought a gun into the Wizards lockerroom, further connecting the
team to the gun violence it was trying to disassociate itself from when it changed the nickname
in the first place.
But Bullets still has a proud tradition, evoking memories of Wes Unseld and Elvin Hayes. Many
diehard fans want the team to switch back to Bullets. (Feldman, 2014)
The Washington Bullets will change their nickname because of its connotation to street violence
and will hold a contest to choose a new name, the club owner, Abe Pollin, said today.
"Unfortunately, far too often these days 'bullets' in the news does not have anything to do with
basketball," Pollin said. "I realized we should consider changing our name." (Times, 1995)
Ever since Ted Leonsis said he was "shocked" that so many people are asking him to change
the Wizards' nickname, I've been wondering why this is such a hot-button issue for so many
people. At the end of the day, it's just a nickname, and there are tons of nonsensical and/or
unoriginal nicknames out there in professional sports (Utah Jazz? Philadelphia Phillies?).
Winning remains the best way to market a team.
Those are some pretty harsh words, but they also represent the sentiments of several people I've
talked to. The argument is basically "Wizards" represents the team's failure over the past few
decades, while "Bullets" hearkens back to better times. But to me, that really isn't the issue at
hand. The real problem is that, for many fans, this issue remains deeply personal.

The truth is, the mid-'90s Washington Bullets desperately needed to be re-branded. To hear
people talk about how great the team's colors were at the time is funny to me. Sure, the classic
red, white and blue colors of the '70s were great, but that wasn't the team's logo by the mid-'90s.
Instead, it was that thing.
The uniforms? Plain white or red, with that logo. Combine that with a depressing team, the poor
facilities and an old, danky arena, and it did seem like the team was old-fashioned. Beyond
playing better, a re-branding was necessary, as much as we want to say it wasn't.
But of course, a re-brand doesn't mean a name change to "Wizards." I have a hard time
begrudging Abe Pollin too much for feeling uncomfortable about his team being called "Bullets"
-- it's his team, and it'd feel weird to question his sense of morality too much. At the same time,
there was definitely some funny business going on that has been lost with time. (Prada, 2010)

References
Feldman, D. (2014, 03 20). NBC. Retrieved from John Wall wants Wizards to become Bullets
again: http://nba.nbcsports.com/2014/03/20/john-wall-wants-wizards-to-become-bulletsagain/
Prada, M. (2010, 06 14). SB Nation. Retrieved from SB Nation DC:
http://dc.sbnation.com/2010/6/14/1517249/wizards-bullets-name-change-ted-leonsisowner
Times, T. N. (1995, 10 10). Sports. Retrieved from The New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/1995/11/10/sports/bullets-planning-to-change-name.html
wikipedia. (n.d.). wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Wizards