Stade Toulouse-Exeter: “Attack stereotypes!” Why was the English club so violently criticized that it had to revolutionize its visual identity?

Faced with growing controversy, they chose peace. From July 2022, English rugby club Exeter will wear a brand new logo on their jerseys. With this new identity, common to the whole club, they present themselves on the Ernst-Wallen lawn this Sunday, April 14, to challenge Stade Toulouse in the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup.

But why were Exeter's chiefs forced to abandon their historic symbol, representing the head of an American Indian chief since 1871 (the club's foundation)?

Due to an arrest, in 2021, the National Congress of American Indians. In a letter, the association expressed its anger to Exeter's chairman, ruling that the club logo was “port”. [ait] It harms indigenous peoples through the offensive stereotypes it conveys.

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A few months later, Exeter leaders announced a change of identity. “As a rugby club we are ready to listen, we have consulted with many people and now we are ready to bring about change,” chairman Tony Rowe said.

The new logo reflects; Now, a soldier's head. A Celt, belonging to the Damnoni tribe. A people who occupied an area that included parts of Devon, Cornwall and Somerset, where Exeter is located. This was centuries before the Roman occupation began in AD 43. The club will wear this new logo from the start of the 2022/2023 season.

On the other hand, the players' nickname, “Chiefs”, has been retained. The name, which was initially inspired by American Indians, may correspond with the new identity, as the president explained at the time. “The word Chiefs is steeped in our history, going back a century, teams from this region routinely called their first team We Exeter, We Chiefs!”

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At the same time, several opposing clubs have asked Exeter supporters not to appear in the stands during the trip wearing the symbolic headdresses of American Indian chiefs.