President Donald Trump again threatened to intervene in the Washington Commanders‘ stadium deal, this time if the team does not revert to its previous name.
Trump twice on Sunday rallied on Truth Social against the Commanders and Cleveland Guardians for changing their names but threatened in his second post later in the day to block a possible stadium deal if the Commanders do not change their name back to the Redskins, a Native American slur.
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“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,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
Trump previously suggested the federal government would intervene if the District of Columbia Council does not approve a $3.7 billion deal between the Commanders and the district. It is unclear what federal oversight he would have to take over the deal.
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The Washington football franchise dropped its previous name in 2020 after years of criticism regarding its name and logo. The term “Redskins” is a slur toward Native Americans, and the team used the “Washington Football Team” as a temporary placeholder before the franchise settled on the Commanders as a permanent name in 2022.
The team was under pressure to drop its name from key corporate sponsors in 2020, including FedEx, Pepsi, and Nike, which were threatening to pull their support if the name was not changed.