President Donald Trump has threatened to block a deal for the Washington Commanders’ new stadium if the American football team does not revert to their original name.
The US president said in a post on Truth Social on Sunday that a “big clamouring” exists for the “Washington Whatevers” to change back to the Redskins and claimed it would make the team “more valuable”.
The NFL team dropped the name Redskins in July 2020 after a review as it was long considered racist and offensive to Native Americans. They were called the Washington Football Team during the 2020 season before changing to the Commanders in 2022.
In April, a deal was agreed for the Commanders to build a new £3bn, 65,000-seater stadium at the site where RFK Stadium – their home from 1961 to 1997 – still stands.
Last week, DC Council were urged to speed up approving the stadium, external plans by a top Republican politician.
Trump wrote: “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.”
In February this year, Trump made history when he became the first sitting president of the USA to attend the Super Bowl as the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22.
Trump also urged Major League Baseball side the Cleveland Guardians to change their name back to the Cleveland Indians, having changed it in 2021.
“Our great Indian people, in massive numbers, want this to happen,” Trump said. “Their heritage and prestige is systematically being taken away from them.”
Guardians team president Chris Antonetti told The Athletic: “Not something I’m tracking or paying a lot of attention to.
“But I would say generally, I understand there are very different perspectives on the decision we made a few years ago. It’s a decision we made and we’ve gotten the opportunity to build the brand as the Guardians over the last four years and we’re excited about the future.”
Earlier this year the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) issued a statement “in response to recent public endorsements by political figures supporting unsanctioned Native ‘themed’ mascots – a stance that NCAI and Tribal leaders nationwide unequivocally reject”.
“These depictions are not tributes – they are rooted in racism, cultural appropriation, and intentional ignorance. For too long, they have perpetuated harmful stereotypes that degrade, dehumanize, and visit harm on the wellbeing of Native peoples,” it added.
BBC Sport has contacted the Washington Commanders for comment.
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