The use of "Redskins" as a sports team name is a central part of a broader controversy concerning offensive Native American names and symbols, as the term itself is now widely regarded as disparaging. The most prominent team, the NFL's Washington Redskins, faced decades of campaigns to change its name, ultimately yielding to investor and sponsor pressure in 2020 amidst racial justice protests, rebranding as the Washington Football Team before becoming the Commanders in 2022. This followed earlier voluntary changes by college teams like the University of Utah (which became the Utes in 1972) and Miami University of Ohio (which became the RedHawks in 1997), with a Canadian hockey team and several high schools also retiring the name in recent years.

Despite a steady decline, many high school and youth teams, tracked by the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), continue to use the name, with defenders citing tradition against accusations of political correctness. The term "redskin" itself, debated in origin, emerged in the colonial period as a racial identifier (first known use 1769) and was being used disparagingly by 1862, highlighting the deep historical context of the mascot controversy.