US President Donald Trump has expressed his desire for two major sports teams to revert to their former names – the Washington Redskins Football Team and the Cleveland Indians Baseball Team. In a recent post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump stated that “there is a big clamoring” for these name changes.
The Washington Commanders, who acquired the team from Dan Snyder in 2023, had previously announced they would retain their current name. However, owner Josh Harris recently acknowledged that there are differing opinions about the decision to change names. Guardians president Chris Antonetti stated that the team has an opportunity to build a brand as the Guardians and is excited for the future.
The Cleveland Indians dropped “Chief Wahoo” from its logo in 2018 and announced its name change to the Guardians in July 2021. This move came amid national discussions about teams dropping logos and names considered racist. Washington, on the other hand, phased out its Redskins logo after the 2019 season and was known as the Washington Football Team before moving to Commanders.
A common link between the two teams is ownership – David Blitzer, a member of Harris’ group, holds a minority stake in the Guardians.
Source: https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/45783141/trump-calls-commanders-guardians-reverse-name-changes