The George Floyd riots in the United States toward the end of Donald Trump’s first term in office were a game-changer in terms of being “woke” in this country.
It was during that time that the Washington Redskins caved to pressure and changed the team's name.
In 2022, the squad was rebranded as the Washington Commanders, a decision that is still not sitting well with Trump.
The Washington Redskins were founded in 1932, and nary a word was ever said about the team’s nickname up until the country went woke, and things really became heated in the wake of George Floyd's death.
In 2020, the team dropped “Redskins," and for a while was simply known as the Washington Football Team until a new name could be selected.
In 2022, the team announced that it would rebrand as the Washington Commanders, a decision that did not resonate with fans, former players, and, of course, Trump.
The team has remained firm on the rebranding, and is now poised to get a new stadium home...maybe.
In April, the team and the District of Columbia announced that a deal had been struck to build a new $4 billion stadium, with franchise ownership and the municipality having an uneven split on the financing of the Commanders' new home.
Team owner Josh Harris stated, "Without exaggeration, this will be the best stadium in the country when it's built."
The team was to commit $2.7 billion, while the city would pay $1.147 billion. In addition to the stadium, the project would include new shops, restaurants, and parking garages.
At-large council member Kenyan R. McDuffie stated, "This is such a tremendous opportunity for the nation's capital," and that take is spot on. A new stadium generally means an easy bid to host a Super Bowl as well as an NFL draft, two events that are likely to bring billions in tourist spending to the city.
Trump just rained on the city’s parade, however, saying that he will put restrictions on the project if the team does not change its name back to the Redskins.
The president stated, "My statement on the Washington Redskins has totally blown up, but only in a very positive way. 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."
Then Trump switched his attention over to Major League Baseball, where Cleveland was also shamed into changing its team name, posting, "Cleveland should do the same with the Cleveland Indians. The Owner of the Cleveland Baseball Team, Matt Dolan, who is very political, 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)!"
The deal in D.C. has already been approved, so I am not sure how much power Trump has to stop it, but I also believe this is really a fight he should avoid right now. It’s a private team, and if its leaders choose to cave to liberals, that is on them, as the fan base will let them know how they feel about it. My concern is that Democrats are now pushing the Trump-as-authoritarian narrative, and this will only feed it. But, knowing Trump, that is probably exactly what he is hoping, possibly using this as a way to bring the news cycle away from the Epstein files.
