Will Native American mascots soon be a thing of the past?

The NFL’s Washington Redskins announced it will be changing its name.

The move represents a startling about-face for team owner Dan Snyder, who had previously insisted that a name change would never happen despite persistent criticism from Native American groups. The tipping point appears to have been pressure from sponsors like FedEx, Nike and PepsiCo that had threatened to cut ties with the team if the name wasn’t changed.

Washington’s name change leaves four remaining teams in major American sports leagues that use Native American names and iconography: The...