President Donald Trump knows a thing or two about wanting to move on from one’s troubling past, but he would like to see the NFL’s Washington Commanders reverse course and return to their previously name, a Native American slur.
“The Washington ‘Whatever’s’ should IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team. There is a big clamoring for this,” wrote Trump on Truth Social. “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!!!”
Trump also demanded that Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Guardians revert to their previous name as the Indians.
Setting aside the sheer audacity it takes for the President of the United States to share concern that Native American “heritage and prestige is systematically being taken away from them,” Trump has long desired for the Commanders to return to the name they used between 1933 and 2019.
The controversy around the team’s name began receiving widespread attention in the 1990s, but it wasn’t until the 2020s that pressure from sponsors and advertisers encouraged then-owner Dan Snyder to end the usage of that name. They were briefly known as the Washington Football Team before taking on the Commanders moniker in 2022.
While there have been many efforts to revise the historical context and meaning of the term “redskin,” there is no question that its initial and longtime usage was as a racial slur, with any notable contemporary dictionary of American English labeling it as offensive, disparaging, or insulting. The discussions surrounding its usage, public opinion, and politics can often be more nuanced and complex than people would like, but its origins are undeniable. And efforts to justify the usage of the name were frequently revealed to be done in bad faith.
All of that said, this situation presents a fascinating stress test of whether a line exists for sports leagues to resist Trump’s demands and whims. Since his reelection, the sports and sports media worlds have seemingly shifted to accommodate his ideology, or at the very least, appease him. MLB has caved in several ways, downplaying diversity at every turn.. ESPN eagerly aired a statement from Trump during halftime of the College Football Playoff National Championship. The network’s parent company, Disney, settled a frivolous lawsuit with Trump to the tune of $16 million, as did CBS’s parent company, Paramount. Fox Corporation patriarch Rupert Murdoch sat in Trump’s luxury box during the FIFA Club World Cup along with FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
The NFL has been no stranger to kissing the rings as well. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell visited the White House to announce that the 2027 NFL Draft will be hosted in Washington, D.C. The league also infamously removed its anti-racism messaging from end zones.
Changing the name of the Commanders, just three years later, is a whole other can of worms. It would be an astronomical financial loss, given the numerous changes required. It would also be a stunning reversal, just a few years after the team and league touted the move as a step forward.
Now, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio recently speculated that the Commanders appeared to be dipping their toes in the water of a potential name flip-flop. The franchise recently revealed “Super Bowl era” uniforms that directly echo the classic version, sans name. In 2024, head coach Dan Quinn wore a T-shirt that combined the old and new logos to a press conference, a move that wasn’t exactly condemned.
Owner Josh Harris has said multiple times that the franchise has no plans to return to its old name.
Additionally, the team is undertaking ongoing efforts to secure a new stadium in Washington, D.C., which is currently pending approval by the D.C. Council. No one loves quid pro quo quite like Donald Trump. It stands to reason that he could offer to grease the wheels to get the deal done, provided owner Josh Harris changes the franchise name back. And given how much NFL owners love money, you have to imagine he’d consider the deal.
UPDATE: Trump, emboldened by the response to his initial post, returned to Truth Social later on Sunday to say that if the franchise doesn’t revert its name back, he won’t “make a deal for them to build a Stadium in Washington.”
If the change does occur, it will likely spark a fresh round of controversy all over again. But at least it’ll make Tony Romo’s life easier.