As if he didn’t have enough controversies, Donald Trump decided to open a new one by threatening and demanding that the NFL team Washington Commanders and the MLB team Cleveland Guardians return to their controversial original names, “Redskins” and “Indians,” respectively.
Both teams announced their intentions to change their names in 2020, amid a national context marked by protests in support of minorities and against racial injustice following the death of George Floyd. Companies like Nike, Walmart, and FedEx also played a key role, pressuring franchises to abandon nicknames considered offensive to indigenous communities.
The Commanders adopted their current name in 2022, after a transition period in which they were simply called the Washington Football Team, while in the case of the Guardians the change was officialized in 2021.
What did Trump say about the names Commanders and Guardians?
In his message, Trump wrote that “Washington ‘whatever’ should IMMEDIATELY CHANGE their name back to the Washington Redskins football team”, claiming that there is “a great clamor for this.” He added that the Cleveland Indians, a team with a long history in Major League Baseball, should also go back to their old name, arguing that “our great Indian people, in huge numbers, want this to happen”.
As usual, there are no indications of the reasons cited by the President of the United States, as indigenous communities supposedly want the Cleveland baseball team to return to its former nickname “in huge numbers.”
The president did not limit himself to just an opinion: in another message on his Truth Social network, he also threatened that he would not support the agreement for the construction of a new stadium in Washington if the team does not revert to the name Redskins, despite being in favor of the project a few weeks ago. “I will not make a deal for them to build a stadium in Washington,” he stated, emphasizing that the team “would be much more valuable” with the old name and that the agreement would be “exciting for everyone.”
The project for the new stadium, valued at 2.7 billion dollars, had been promoted as the largest private investment in the urban history of the city. However, the delay in the vote by the District of Columbia’s city council and Trump’s statements could jeopardize the realization of the plan, which envisioned the opening of the venue in 2030 at the site of the old RFK Stadium.
Trump also directly targeted the Dolan family, owners of the Guardians. He claimed that Matt Dolan, who has a partial stake in the team and has been a Republican Senate candidate for Ohio, has lost three consecutive elections due to the “ridiculous name change.” However, it is Paul Dolan who is listed as the principal owner and CEO of the club.
Why did the teams change their names?
The most controversial case was that of the Washington team, which for several years was under pressure from commentators and media to abandon the name “Redskins,” offensive to indigenous communities, but they always encountered a refusal from the controversial former owner Daniel Snyder. He did not give in until threats from shareholders, investors, sponsors, and the NFL itself forced his hand.
In 2023, Snyder was forced to sell the Commanders due to a congressional investigation into sexual abuse and a toxic work environment within the organization. The current owner, Josh Harris, stated in February that, while the name has generated divided opinions, the team will continue with that identity.
In the case of Cleveland, while the name “Indians” seemed to be more generic and less offensive than “Redskins”, the main focus of controversy was on the logo of a red-faced Indian named Chief Wahoo, which was removed in 2019 after years of protests.
The new name is inspired by the sculptures known as the Traffic Guardians, located near the team’s stadium in Cleveland. The team’s president, Chris Antonetti, told The Athletic that the organization is focused on its future: “I understand that there are very different perspectives on the decision we made a few years ago, but we have had the opportunity to build the brand as Guardians over the past four years.”
The difficult relationship between Trump and the NFL
This controversy marks a new chapter in the difficult relationship between the President of the United States and the country’s major sports league.
During 2025, there seemed to be a rapprochement, as in February Trump became the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl and in May he personally announced that Washington DC will be the host city for the 2027 Draft. At that conference, the owner of the Commanders participated, who gave the president a football and a team jersey with the number 47, in recognition of his order as president, and calling him “the supreme commander”.
However, during his first term, the relationship was different, as Trump generated a great controversy by harshly insulting players who protested during the national anthem by kneeling as a sign of denouncing racial injustices.