{"id":7260,"date":"2025-08-05T19:21:02","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T19:21:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/?p=7260"},"modified":"2025-09-07T19:23:31","modified_gmt":"2025-09-07T19:23:31","slug":"trump-demands-commanders-return-to-old-name-dismissing-racism-and-reigniting-controversy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/?p=7260","title":{"rendered":"Trump Demands Commanders Return to Old Name, Dismissing Racism and Reigniting Controversy"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Stacy M. Brown<\/a><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Having eliminated diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts, attacked the teaching of Black history in schools, and embraced white nationalist rhetoric, President Donald Trump is promoting a return to America\u2019s racist instincts.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, the president posted a racially charged message on his Truth Social platform, demanding that Washington\u2019s NFL team restore its previous name \u2014 a name long condemned as a slur against Indigenous people.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Washington \u2018Whatever\u2019s\u2019 should IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team,\u201d the president wrote. \u201cThere is a big clamoring for this\u2026 Our great Indian people, in massive numbers, want this to happen\u2026 OWNERS, GET IT DONE!!!\u201d<\/p>\n

He later threatened to block funding for RFK Stadium if Washington does not change its current name.<\/p>\n

\u201cI may put a restriction on them that if they don\u2019t change the name back to the original \u2018Washington Redskins,\u2019 and get rid of the ridiculous moniker, \u2018Washington Commanders,\u2019 I won\u2019t make a deal for them to build a Stadium in Washington,\u201d Trump wrote.<\/p>\n

He also insisted that Major League Baseball\u2019s Cleveland Guardians return to their former name, the Indians.<\/p>\n

While sports executives have dismissed Trump\u2019s remarks, his suggestions reignited a painful history and ongoing conversation about race, identity, and power \u2014 especially in the nation\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n

Josh Harris, who purchased the Washington Commanders in 2023 from disgraced former owner Dan Snyder, had previously shut down speculation about returning to the old name.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe name was changed, and it\u2019s not going back,\u201d Harris said in an earlier statement, which appeared to make clear that the new ownership has no interest in revisiting a controversy that has long divided the city and caused deep harm.<\/p>\n

The History Behind the Former Name, New Name<\/strong><\/p>\n

The controversy \u2014 centered in Washington \u2014 dates back to 1933, when the franchise changed its name from the Boston Braves to the Boston Redskins. The team relocated to Washington in 1937, where it remained known as the \u201cRedskins\u201d until 2020\u2013 when it was then called the Washington Football Team.<\/p>\n

For decades, Indigenous leaders, civil rights advocates, and scholars condemned the name as a racial slur comparable to the most vile insults hurled at other marginalized groups.<\/p>\n

In the early 1970s, the first significant public backlash against the name took hold, with Washington journalists and activists comparing the term \u201cRedskins\u201d to anti-Black slurs. The team president at the time claimed the name was meant to \u201cconvey reverence,\u201d but the defense rang hollow for many in the Native American community.<\/p>\n

By 1992, protests escalated.<\/p>\n

At Super Bowl XXVI, played in Minnesota and featuring the Washington team, thousands demonstrated against the name. That same year, Suzan Shown Harjo, a prominent Native American rights advocate, led a legal challenge to revoke the team\u2019s federal trademark protections. The courts initially ruled in her favor in 1999, declaring the name disparaging, but years of appeals followed.<\/p>\n

Daniel Snyder, then-owner of the team, remained defiant. In 2013, he famously told USA Today, \u201cWe\u2019ll never change the name. NEVER \u2014 you can use caps.\u201d<\/p>\n

That same year, President Barack Obama urged Snyder to reconsider.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I were the owner of the team and I knew that the name of my team\u2026 was offending a sizable group of people, I\u2019d think about changing it,\u201d Obama said.<\/p>\n

Despite Snyder\u2019s efforts to portray the name as honoring Native heritage \u2014 even citing alleged support from Indigenous leaders and organizations \u2014 key groups like the Red Cloud Indian School explicitly refuted any endorsement, calling the name offensive and harmful.<\/p>\n

In Washington, the pressure mounted. Activists, corporate sponsors, and even the District\u2019s local officials spoke out. The team ultimately retired the \u201cRedskins\u201d name in July 2020, after FedEx, Nike, and PepsiCo investors pushed for the change, citing reputational damage and social responsibility. FedEx, which held naming rights to the team\u2019s stadium, was especially influential \u2014 its CEO, Fred Smith, was a part-owner.<\/p>\n

For two seasons, the team played under the placeholder name \u201cWashington Football Team\u201d before unveiling \u201cCommanders\u201d in 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrump demanded that the Washington Commanders change their names back to the Washington Redskins,\u201d social media user Bryan Behar wrote on X<\/a>, formerly known as Twitter. \u201cCan you believe a president is putting his energy on this nonsense? And for no other reason that he wants to make the name MORE RACIST?<\/p>\n

\u2018Words Matter. Names Matter. And We Won\u2019t Go Back.\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many say Trump\u2019s call to return to the old name is not only an affront to those efforts but also an insult to the people of Washington, D.C., where residents \u2014 particularly Native and Black communities \u2014 have fought tirelessly for representation, dignity, and respect.<\/p>\n

The Commanders are not just a football team. In the city where Congress meets, where civil rights battles have been waged for generations, and where racial justice remains a pressing concern, the team\u2019s name has always carried weight beyond the gridiron.<\/p>\n

Chris Antonetti, the Cleveland Guardians\u2019 president of baseball operations, echoed Washington\u2019s stance during a Sunday press briefing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe understand there are different perspectives\u2026 but obviously it\u2019s a decision we made. We\u2019ve had the opportunity to build a brand as the Guardians over the last four years and are excited about the future,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But the spotlight remains on Washington \u2014 and not just because it\u2019s the seat of American power. It\u2019s because the team\u2019s identity was at the center of a decades-long fight against racism, bigotry, and historical erasure.<\/p>\n

And now, Trump wants to drag it all back.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is long overdue that we stop treating people as mascots,\u201d Harjo once said. \u201cWords matter. Names matter. And we won\u2019t go back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Source: Published without changes from Washington Informer Newspaper<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Stacy M. Brown Having eliminated diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts, attacked the teaching of Black history<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[255,24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-america-under-attack","category-regular-column"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7260"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7260\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7262,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7260\/revisions\/7262"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}