President Donald Trump is threatening to
thwart plans for a new stadium if the Washington Commanders don’t change their name back to Redskins.
“The Commanders dropped their “Redskins”
name in 2020 amid pressure from corporate sponsors and after lobbying by Native American groups, who argued that the team’s name and logo amplified racist stereotypes,” according to The New York
Times. And “in a post about the Cleveland Guardians, Mr. Trump attacked Matt Dolan, a former state legislator who has a partial stake in the team, writing that he had lost elections
‘because of that ridiculous name change” from the Cleveland Indians.
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The President directed his demands at the owners of both the Washington Commanders and the Cleveland
Guardians. Both teams have had their current names since their respective seasons in 2022, and both have said that they don't plan to change them back, according to ESPN, nothing that Trump’s latest interest in changing the names
reflects his broader effort to roll back changes that followed a national debate on cultural sensitivity and racial justice.
“The Washington ‘Whatever’s’
should IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, the social media network he owns. “There is a big clamoring for this.
Likewise, the Cleveland Indians, one of the six original baseball teams, with a storied past. Our great Indian people, in massive numbers, want this to happen. Their heritage and prestige is
systematically being taken away from them. Times are different now than they were three or four years ago. We are a Country of passion and common sense. OWNERS, GET IT DONE!!!”
However, a recent poll shows fans are warming to the name of Washington’s NFL team.
“Following the franchise’s best season in decades, which ended
with a loss in the NFC championship game, a Washington Post-Schar School poll showed the name catching on,” according to The Washington Post. “In May, 50% of local people — and 62% of Commanders fans — said they either 'like' or 'love' the name. Roughly a
year earlier, the same poll showed 34% and 36%, respectively.”
Cleveland Guardians President Chris Antonetti says the club is focused on its future.
“Not something I’m tracking or paying a lot of attention to, but I would say generally, I understand there are very different perspectives on the decision we made a few years
ago,” he said during a meeting with a reporters, according to USA Today. “We've
gotten the opportunity to build the brand as the Guardians over the last four years and are excited about the future.”
Trump has previously complained about the football
team’s decision to change its name amid concerns the old name was a slur against Native Americans.
“Trump is limited in what he can do about sports teams outside
Washington, DC.,” notes Bloomberg. “But the Commanders plan
to build a new stadium on land that has been managed by the US National Park Service. The tract’s RFK Stadium was home to the team for roughly three decades until 1996.”
Trump’s posts could be an attempt to distract from the backlash over his administration’s backpedaling on its promise to release the government’s files on convicted sex
offender Jeffrey Epstein, with whom Trump socialized for nearly 15 years, notes The New York Times.