Washington Commanders owners are reportedly scrambling to figure out how to handle President Trump’s demands that they abandon their “woke” rebranding and restore the beloved Redskins name.
Washington’s owners fear Trump could derail their $3.7 billion stadium deal if they refuse.
Private equity billionaires Josh Harris and David Blitzer, who purchased the team in 2023 for $6.05 billion, have been privately warning business associates that “the White House does indeed have some leverage” over their plans to build a new stadium on the old RFK Stadium site, according to sources familiar with the situation.
Trump has repeatedly blasted the team’s 2020 name change, most recently calling them the “Washington Whatevers” and issuing a direct threat to their stadium ambitions.
“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 posted on Truth Social. “The Team would be much more valuable, and the Deal would be more exciting for everyone.”
The president has also demanded that the Cleveland Guardians restore the Indians name.
“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)!” he wrote.
Sources close to Harris and Blitzer say the owners are “really getting nervous about Trump’s attacks and how they might impact the stadium deal.” The duo has been publicly defiant about maintaining the Commanders name, but insiders say they may be on the verge of breaking as Trump’s pressure campaign intensifies.
The president’s leverage stems from the complex federal approval process required for the stadium project. The new facility would be built on federal land leased to the D.C. government for the next 99 years, meaning it needs approvals from federal agencies including the National Capital Planning Commission and the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts—both of which include Trump appointees.
Additionally, the project requires sign-offs from Trump’s environmental team, giving the administration multiple pressure points to influence the deal. While the project includes no direct federal funding, with D.C. agreeing to cover about $1 billion of the cost, Trump could still use his control of the administrative state to extract concessions.
“He may not ultimately try to kill the stadium deal if they don’t change the name but Harris and Blitzer are going to have to grovel before Trump relents,” said one sports executive who knows Trump well and requested anonymity.
The owners’ nervousness reflects a broader shift in public sentiment since the woke rebranding occurred. Former owner Dan Snyder had resisted changing the Redskins name for years, arguing it was a term of pride in Native American culture rather than a slur. However, he ultimately capitulated in 2020 during the Black Lives Matter race riots, bowing to pressure from the NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, along with some advertisers and far-Left activists.
The team initially became the Washington Football Team before settling on the Commanders name. But much has changed since 2020, including a significant public backlash against woke corporate policies, exemplified by the Bud Light boycott after the company used a transgender woman in a beer commercial.
D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson suggested he would have “no problem” with a potential name change, telling local radio that past opposition to the team returning to D.C. with the Redskins name “had more to do with Dan Snyder than the name” and that he “would have no problem with DC welcoming the team back with the name Redskins now.”