MONTREAL (AP) " McGill University has announced that it is dropping the name Redmen from its varsity sports teams.

Principal Suzanne Fortier said in a statement Friday that the name has caused pain and alienation for indigenous students at the Canadian university.

"Today, 'redmen' is widely acknowledged as an offensive term for Indigenous peoples, as evidenced by major English dictionaries," Fortier said.

American sports teams at amateur, college and professional levels have faced similar criticisms.

Last year, the Cleveland Indians baseball team removed Chief Wahoo as its logo.

However, longstanding pressure to change the name of the Washington Redskins NFL team has so far been unsuccessful.

McGill's decision comes after an internal report revealed deep divisions between students and alumni over the nearly century-old name.