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McGill University will no longer use the name Redmen for its men’s sports teams, university president Suzanne Fortier announced Friday, following longstanding complaints by students and Indigenous groups that the name was derogatory, hurtful and perpetuated racial stereotypes.

For the 2019-2020 academic year, the men’s teams will simply be known as the McGill teams, Fortier said. The university will set up a committee to choose a new name that will be in place for the 2020-2021 athletic year.

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In a November referendum, nearly 80 per cent of McGill students voted in favour of changing the nickname McGill’s teams had used for nearly a century.

Many McGill alumni argued the Redmen moniker was created in the 1920s as a reference to the school’s signature colour and Celtic roots, and had nothing to do with Indigenous peoples. Some threatened to stop donating and said they would discourage their children from applying to the school.