Cleveland – President Donald Trump threatens to keep a new stadium agreement for the Washington NFL team if he does not restore his old name of the Redskins, which is considered offensive for the Amerindians.
Trump also said on Sunday that he wanted the Cleveland baseball team to come back to his old name, the Indians, saying that there was also a “big complaint for that”.
Washington commanders and Cleveland guards have had their current names since the 2022 seasons, and the two said they did not intend to change them.
Trump said commanders would be “much more precious” if they restored their old name.
“I can put a restriction on which if they do not change the name in” Washington Redskins “of origin, and get rid of the ridiculous nickname,” Washington commanders “, I will not agree to build a stadium in Washington,” said Trump on his social media site.
His last interest in changing the names reflects his broader effort to reduce the changes that have followed a national debate on cultural sensitivity and racial justice. Washington announced that it would drop the names of the Redskins and the Indian Head logo in 2020 during a wider calculation with systemic racism and police brutality.
The commanders and the government of the Columbia district announced an agreement earlier this year to build a new house for the football team on the site the old RFK stadium, the place that the franchise called at home for more than three decades.
Trump’s ability to make the agreement remains to be seen. President Joe Biden signed a bill in January which transferred the land of the federal government to the District of Columbia.
The provision was part of a short -term expenditure bill adopted by the congress in December. While the residents of DC elect a mayor, a municipal council and the commissioners to manage daily operations, the congress maintains control of the city’s budget.
Josh Harris, whose group bought the commanders of the former owner Dan Snyder in 2023, said earlier this year that the name was there to stay. Shortly after taking over, Harris appeased speculations on the return in the name of the old name, saying that this would not happen. The team did not immediately respond to a request for comments after publications on Trump’s social networks on Sunday.
The Washington team started in Boston as Redskins in 1933 before moving in the national capital four years later.
Guardians president of baseball operations, Chris Antonetti, said on Sunday’s match against athletics before which he did not plan to review the name change.
“We understand that there are different prospects on the decision we made a few years ago, but this is obviously a decision that we have made. We have the opportunity to build a brand as Guardians in the last four years and we are delighted with the future before us,” he said.
Cleveland announced in December 2020 that he would drop the Indians. He announced the passage to the Guardians in July 2021. In 2018, the team deleted “Chef Wahoo” as the main logo.
The name changes had their share of supporters and criticisms in the context of national discussions on logos and names considered to be racist.
Trump posted on Sunday afternoon that “the owner of the Cleveland baseball team Matt Dolan, who is very political, lost three elections in a row because of this ridiculous name change. What he does not understand is that if he has changed the name of the Cleveland Indians, he could in fact win an election. The Indians are treated very unfairly.
Matt Dolan, the son of the late owner Larry Dolan, has no role with the guards. He directed the efforts of the team’s charity until 2016.
Matt Dolan was a candidate in the US Ohio Senate elections in 2022 and ’24, but lost.
Washington and Cleveland share something else in common. David Blitzer is a member of the Harris ownership group in commanders and has a minority participation in The Guardians.
