Premiership Rugby: Exeter Chiefs replace Native American-themed branding with a new logo

Exeter Chiefs (Gallagher Premiership Rugby) are abandoning their logo depicting a Native American chief and have unveiled a new visual identity, according to the club on 27/01/2022. A Celtic warrior will now appear on the emblem of the English club, which will also be retaining its name, from July 2022.

"The change in identity comes in the wake of the Exeter Rugby Club's board undertaking a full and informative review process over the past two years," said the club. A petition to change the club's visual identity was launched by a group of supporters who felt that the use of a Native American figure constituted cultural appropriation in July 2020. In a letter to Exeter Chiefs chairman Tony Rowe, the National Congress of American Indians deplored the "offensive stereotype" promoted by the club's logo on 10/11/2021.

"The new Exeter Chiefs logo is made up of elements which represent the region's Celtic history, as well as its links to the Iron Age Dumnonii Tribe, whose presence in the local area mirrors our own, ever-expanding supporter base. The helmet is based on the Celtic helmets…