Trump threatens to restrict stadium deal with Washington Commanders if they don't change name back to ‘Redskins'

RNZ News

5 days ago

By
Kit Maher
, CNN
Washington Commanders runs off the field after being sacked on a fourth down while playing the Philadelphia Eagles during the fourth quarter in the NFC Championship Game.
Photo:
EMILEE CHINN
President Donald Trump has escalated his call for the Washington Commanders to change their name back to the "Redskins", threatening to restrict the NFL team's stadium deal if they don't, though it's unclear how he would be able to.
"I may put a restriction on them that if they don't change the name back to the original 'Washington Redskins', and get rid of the ridiculous moniker, 'Washington Commanders', I won't make a deal for them to build a Stadium in Washington. The Team would be much more valuable, and the Deal would be more exciting for everyone," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The organisation left Washington for Landover, Maryland, in 1997, but DC Mayor Muriel Bowser and the team announced a deal in April to bring the Commanders back to the district at the site of the old Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium. Trump touted the deal at the time, but the proposal is stalled before the DC Council.
Speaking to reporters last week, Bowser urged the DC Council to "make moves" on the deal, adding that "the Commanders are anxious" about it.
Trump expressed openness earlier this month to helping out if the DC Council does not approve the deal.
"It's a great piece of property, so we'll see. But if I can help them out, I would. …The federal government ultimately controls it," Trump said.
In late 2024, lawmakers in Congress passed a bill to transfer ownership of the RFK site from the federal government to the district's government.
"The owner is very, very successful and a very good man," Trump continued.
"It would be a great place for the NFL to be there, I can tell you that."
A bust of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stands outside RFK Stadium, defunct and currently under demolition, in Washington, DC.
Photo:
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI
Earlier on Sunday (US Time), the president initially referred to the football team as the "Washington 'Whatever's'" and urged the owners to "IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team."
CNN has reached out to the Commanders and the DC mayor's office for comment on Trump's posts.
Trump's comments went further than ones he made earlier this month, when he told reporters the Commanders' name should be changed back to the Redskins, something he acknowledged was a "controversial statement."
"It doesn't have the same ring to me," he said.
"But, you know, winning can make everything sound good. So, if they win, all of a sudden, the Commanders sounds good, but I wouldn't have changed it."
The Commanders aren't the only team moniker Trump wants reverted.
Donald Trump told reporters the Commanders' name should be changed back to the Redskins, something he acknowledged was a "controversial statement".
Photo:
Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg/Getty Images via CNN Newsource
Trump also put the pressure on the Cleveland Guardians to change their name back to the "Indians", claiming that the "Indian people" want the Guardians to be the "Indians" yet again.
The names were changed as part of a larger cultural shift as corporate brands re-examined their use of racist caricatures and stereotypical names, but Trump argued on Sunday that "times are different now".
"Our great Indian people, in massive numbers, want this to happen. Their heritage and prestige is systematically being taken away from them," Trump said.
"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!!!"
And in a later post on Sunday, Trump claimed Matt Dolan, a former Ohio state lawmaker whose family owns the Guardians, "has lost three Elections in a row because of that ridiculous name change. What he doesn't understand is that if he changed the name back to the Cleveland Indians, he might actually win an Election."
"Indians are being treated very unfairly. MAKE INDIANS GREAT AGAIN (MIGA)!" Trump added, a riff on his "Make America Great Again," or MAGA, slogan.
CNN has reached out to the Cleveland Guardians for comment.
The Washington football team dropped the "Redskins" name in 2020 after decades of criticism from Native American groups that said it was an ethnic slur and a derogatory reference to skin colour. Two years later it unveiled the "Commanders" name.
The Cleveland baseball team announced its name change in 2021, after similar criticism from Native Americans over the "Indians" moniker.
- CNN