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Crusaders seriously considering name change after admitting current branding "no longer tenable"

3rd April, 2019
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3rd April, 2019
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This could be the last season rugby fans get to cheers the Canterbury Crusaders, following a joint announcement from the club and New Zealand Rugby admitting the franchise’s current name and imagery combination are “no longer tenable”.

The news follows last month’s terrorist attack in Christchurch which left 50 people dead.

The aftermath of the attack saw a number of people put pressure on the side to change their name, and it now appears that will lead to a change of some sort, with the franchise saying the “status quo” combination of name and branding is “no longer tenable”.

“In the wake of the Christchurch attacks, it is apparent that the symbolism the club has used, combined with the ‘Crusaders’ name, is offensive to some in the community due to its association with the religious Crusades between Christians and Muslims,” NZ Rugby CEO Steve Tew said.

“One thing that has become very clear in the last two weeks is that there are divided opinions on the best way forward for the brand. We understand and appreciate the passionate feedback that we are receiving on both sides of the conversation, and at this stage we are committed to keeping an open mind until the independent research has been done.

“Maintaining the status quo in terms of the Crusaders name along with the current imagery of knights on horseback is, in our view, no longer tenable because of the association with the religious Crusades that has now been drawn. That is therefore not one of the options that we will be considering.”

Independent research company Research First had been engaged to provide recommendations on the name and branding of the club moving forward.

No timeframe has been placed on the completion of the research at this time, although it’s understood data will be collected during the remainder of the 2019 season.

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Crusaders CEO Colin Mansbridge said the organisation was committed to supporting the community.

“This is an event that rocked our community and brought some important issues to the fore,” Mansbridge said.

“Because of our desire to be the best we can be and to support our community, we are treating the question around the appropriateness of our brand extremely seriously.

“We are committed to undertaking a thorough process, taking into account all relevant opinions and, most importantly, we are committed to doing the right thing.”

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