The Browns are playing in Washington on Sunday, against the Commanders.

To longtime NFL fans, Washington’s team name doesn’t sound right. That’s because the club was known as the Redskins for decades, dating all the way back to the franchise’s origins in Boston in 1932, for a season first as the Braves before being renamed the Redskins the following year. The club relocated to Washington in 1937.

Yes, I understand all the angst over the Redskins nickname, but you can’t ignore the fact that it stood for almost 90 years before being changed recently.

It’s the same thing – only more so, really — in Cleveland baseball with the Indians, who had that nickname for over 100 years before becoming the Guardians for the 2022 season.

How many times last season did fans start to say Indians, or, for that matter, say it fully, before realizing the mistake?

It’s obviously been that way in Washington since Feb. 2, when the Commanders nickname began after the club being known simply as the Washington Football Team for the 2020 and ’21 seasons after the Redskins nickname was dropped.

So, Browns fans, don’t get upset if you refer to your team’s opponent as the Redskins a few times on Sunday before you begin to get the hang of “Commanders.” You’ll have a lot of company in that regard, and anyway, this is a very forgiving country.

Steve King

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