By Canadian Press

McGill men’s sports teams to be called Redbirds after lengthy renaming process

Nov 17, 2020 | 8:31 AM

MONTREAL — McGill University has chosen Redbirds as the new name for its men’s varsity sports teams.

The university made the announcement today, more than a year after doing away with the old Redmen name.

In April 2019, the university announced it was dropping the Redmen name effective immediately, saying it had caused pain and alienation for Indigenous students at the university.  

Fabrice Labeau, the university’s deputy provost of student life and learning, says several names emerged as potential choices, but Redbirds rose to the top due to its historical links to McGill.

The name was used by ski teams in the 1920s and 1930s and more recently by the school’s baseball team, as well as for a fall basketball tournament dubbed the Redbird Classic.

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The university says the name was chosen with the aim of paying homage to the school’s tradition while uniting the McGill community.

It came after a lengthy debate over the former Redmen name, which was not initially adopted as a reference to Indigenous peoples. That association was made in the 1950s when men’s and women’s teams came to be nicknamed the “Indians” and “Squaws.” 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 17, 2020.

The Canadian Press