Exeter Chiefs' Tony Rowe lashes out at critics of Devon rugby club

Exeter Chiefs chairman Tony Rowe has lashed out at critics of the Devon club amid an ongoing row over the use of their Native American branding.

The Premiership club continue to come under fire from certain sections for using indigenous branding on their kit, despite axing their Big Chief mascot last year.

More than 6,000 people have signed a petition calling for a rebranding of the club.

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Like all clubs, the two-times English champions have also come under significant financial pressure during the coronavirus pandemic.

That situation has not been helped by them starting the season without a main shirt sponsor, although Mr Rowe added that a new one will be unveiled this weekend when they host Northampton Saints.

In a statement released by the club yesterday (Wednesday, September 22), Mr Rowe said: "We have a lot of positive stories to tell about Exeter Rugby Club, but it seems that all the media want to do is find something negative to report about and, if they cannot find anything negative, they just make up stories and bend the truth.

"Sponsorship across the board has been thriving, despite the difficult circumstances thrown up by the ongoing pandemic.

"And, contrary to some negative reporting, I am pleased to report we do have a new front of shirt sponsor, which will be revealed this weekend at our home game with Northampton Saints.

"As a club, we have had a fantastic response from over 400 of our sponsors with revenues exceeding that of the 2019/2020 season.

"Again, certain members of the press have failed to highlight this point, instead opting for a viewpoint that suits their own media agenda. Thankfully, I am pleased to say all our sponsors are fully behind us and our branding, both on and off the field.”

The question of Native American branding continues to be a divisive one.

The issue has been forced by a group named Exeter Chiefs for Change, who believe the club are 'blatantly trolling the Native Americans it claims to respect and honour'.

Broadcasters BT Sport have said that they would not include the club's famous tomahawk chop chant in their fake crowd noise.

Nevertheless, there continues to be strong backing among many of the club's supporters over the branding, which was adopted in 1999.

Elizabeth Holloway, who is a member of Exeter Chiefs for Change, told DevonLive last year that it would intensify its calls for the removal of Native American branding after the club's removal of Big Chief as a mascot, with support coming from Exeter MP Ben Bradshaw.

The group is not calling for a name change though, with much of Devon having previously been occupied by Celtic chiefs in years gone by.

The name also refers to the tradition in Devon of naming the first team 'chiefs' at rugby clubs across the county.

The issue was raised again during a pre-season defeat at home to Munster earlier this month, with the club unveiling a bird as their new mascot.

A now-deleted Twitter account named @TomaHawKExeter - a pun on the club's tomahawk chop chant - claimed to represent the new mascot, although it is not clear if this was run by the club or not.

Exeter Chiefs for Change told the Sun: "Chiefs’ commercially chaotic pre-season is now bordering on farcical following the mascot unveiling debacle.

"At best, if it is just a random bird, the club is missing the branding 101 opportunity to launch the mascot with a name and character to engage families and sell related merchandise.

"At worst, if it is based on the “Tom-a-hawk” pun as most suspect, it is doubling-down on the misappropriated branding and blatantly trolling the Native Americans it claims to respect and honour."

They went on: "It appears that the decision to stubbornly plough on with the branding is not without consequences, as the shirts are without a main sponsor. If the club was concerned about the cost of rebranding before, it surely must now be realising the cost of not rebranding.

"Given the phenomenal success as Premiership and European Championship winners just a year ago, many would assume that securing a lucrative sponsorship deal would be a cinch.

"However, as more and more organisations commit to diversity, equity and inclusion policies, the type of higher-profile sponsors that the club’s success should deserve seem less likely to want to align their brand with one tainted in this way.

"The issue is a rapidly snowballing PR crisis that the club is stuck in until it takes action. The sooner they do that the sooner we can all move on and get back to enjoying the rugby and being proud of the club on and off the pitch, without this distraction and harm."

Covid-19 has also placed different pressures on the club, with Mr Rowe warning late last year that no fans, combined with a lack of banquets and conferences held at the venue, was costing them more than £1m a month.

A new hotel costing £39m is also being built next to Sandy Park, while the club's East Stand is also being redeveloped.

Mr Rowe admitted these had been a 'challenge', but said they would leave the club - and its fans - in a much better place upon completion.

"In what has been a testing period for all of us during the current pandemic, I am pleased to confirm that our new multi-million pound, 250-bed Courtyard by Marriott Sandy Park Hotel is near completion and should be open early next year," he continued in his statement.

"The building of this over the last 20 months has been extremely difficult, but working with a positive team and a positive attitude we are only a few weeks behind programme.

"The redevelopment of our East Stand, which has also been a challenge, will be fully open on schedule for our Gallagher Premiership fixture against Bristol Bears over the New Year weekend.

"The alterations to this stand will not only enhance the match-day experience for supporters coming to our games, but it will take our capacity inside Sandy Park to almost 16,000 people."

DevonLive has approached Exeter Chiefs for further comment.

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