CFL

The Canadian Football League's Edmonton Eskimos have announced they will keep their nickname after engaging Inuit leaders in conversations over the past year.  

Edmonton issued a statement explaining the feedback they received before deciding to retain the Eskimos name:

"The Edmonton Eskimo Football Club will be increasing its engagement in Canada's north following an extensive year-long formal research and engagement program with Inuit leaders and community members across Canada.

"The research and engagement program primarily revolved around the Club's name. This program included meetings with Inuit leaders and community leaders in Iqaluit, Inuvik, Yellowknife and Ottawa; and a research phase with a combination of in-depth interviews with Inuit across the north and in Edmonton, and a telephone survey among a broad group of Inuit across Canada.

"The consistent feedback was a desire for more engagement with the Club. There were a range of views regarding the Club's name but no consensus emerged to support a name change. The Club has therefore decided to retain its name."

Janice Agrios, Edmonton's chair of the board of directors, said the franchise will continue its work with the Northern Community Engagement Program that has previously hosted events and school visits in Inuit communities. 

The franchise adopted the Eskimos nickname when it was founded in 1949. The mascot is a polar bear named Nanook and the logo features a gold "EE" in a green oval. 

The CFL's Edmonton Eskimos released kick return specialist Christion Jones over homophobic tweets he posted last week.

"We stand with the LGBTQ2+ community and firmly condemn the language used by Christion Jones. There is no place for such commentary on our team," the Eskimos said in a statement announcing Jones' release.

The CFL also released a statement condemning Jones' comments:

“We in the CFL hold high the Diversity Is Strength banner. Our league makes no claim on perfection, but it does strive to be inclusive, to accept and indeed celebrate our differences, and to respect and honour human rights. There is no place in our league for commentary that disparages people on the basis of their religion, race, gender or sexual orientation. As Pride Month continues, we stand with the LGBTQ+ community. We all need to say no to hate and yes to love.”

Jones sent out tweets Friday saying a "man ain't suppose to be with a man. A women ain't suppose to be with another woman." When the tweets drew blowback, Jones said he "won't be changing how I feel anytime soon."

Jones apologized in a tweet Sunday. 

"From Janis Irwin. 'This is an opportunity for growth.' She is absolutely right. My words were deeply hurtful, painful and served zero purpose," Jones said. "I added to the struggle of a community, to live a life free of oppression of any kind. I sincerely apologize. I was wrong."

Jones played college football at Alabama and briefly spent time with the Miami Dolphins in 2015 and 2016 before joining the CFL. He played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders from 2017 to 2019 before being traded to Edmonton last August.

In 33 career games played, Jones has made eight receptions for 49 yards. He has added three punt returns for touchdowns.