U.S. President Donald Trump reignited the debate over sports identity and cultural politics on Sunday by publicly demanding that the NFL team, the Washington Commanders, regain its former controversial name: Redskins.
In a series of posts on his social network Truth Social, the president affirmed that there is a “great clamor” from the public for the team to reverse the change made in 2020, when the franchise abandoned that name because it was considered offensive to the indigenous peoples of North America.
Trump calls for a return to the Redskins name
“The Washington ‘Whatever’ should IMMEDIATELY change their name to Washington Redskins. There is a huge clamor for it,” Trump tweeted, critically alluding to the current Commanders name.
Trump did not limit himself to soccer on his social network Truth Social.
He also charged against the Major League Baseball team formerly called the Cleveland Indians, which in 2021 adopted the name Cleveland Guardians, likewise for reasons of cultural sensitivity.
“Our great indigenous people, en masse, want this to happen. Their heritage and prestige are being systematically taken away from them,” he said, without presenting concrete evidence of support from indigenous communities.
“Times are different now than they were three or four years ago. We are a country of passion and common sense.”
Conditional on stadium name change to Redskins
Moreover, Trump directly linked this issue to the team’s future in the nation’s capital.
In another message, he threatened to block any agreement that would allow the franchise to return to a stadium within the city limits of Washington, D.C., if the old name is not reinstated.
“If they don’t change the name back to the original ‘Washington Redskins’ and don’t remove the absurd ‘Washington Commanders’ moniker, I won’t make any deal for them to build a stadium in Washington. The team would be worth a lot more and the deal would be more exciting for everyone,” he said.
Context of change
The team officially dropped the name “Redskins” in December 2020, after decades of pressure from activists, indigenous organizations and progressive sectors.
They felt that both the name and the logo (a native man’s head with feathers) perpetuated racist stereotypes.
The decision was part of a broader shift driven by social justice movements following the murder of George Floyd in 2020.
Since then, the team was briefly known as Washington Football Team, before adopting the name Commanders in 2022.
Today, its logo consists of a large golden “W” on a burgundy background.
An issue that divides the nation
Buzzy
Trump’s statements have reignited an issue that continues to be highly polarizing.
Some sectors, mainly conservatives, consider the name changes unnecessary and part of a “cancellation culture”.
Others argue that respect for indigenous peoples and inclusion should also be reflected in professional sports.
The controversy takes on a greater dimension when dealing with a sitting president, who would be using his influence to intervene in commercial and symbolic decisions of a private sports organization.
The Washington 'Whatever' should IMMEDIATELY change their name to Washington Redskins
Donald Trump
