21-07-2025
As Guardians dig in, Commanders remain mum on President Trump's name-change demand
Twice on Sunday, President Donald Trump took to his social-media account on his social-media platform to insist that two professional sports teams restore Native American-based names they'd previously abandoned.
Both the Washington Commanders and the Cleveland Guardians became the targets for an all-caps tirade (SAD!). He eventually threatened the Commanders with the possibility that the Commander-in-Chief won't help them get a D.C. stadium deal done if they don't re-embrace the nickname that is widely regarded as a racial slur.
And while the Guardians stood up and responded to Trump, the Commanders are hiding under the bed. With the NFL right next to them.
We've sent multiple emails to both the team and the league seeking comment on one of the biggest stories in all of sports. No one has responded.
It's a common, low-tech, P.R. play. Ignore the request, and maybe the reporter will forget about it. Force the reporter to remember, and to ask again. And maybe again.
That said, it's easy to understand the paralysis that the Commanders and the NFL may be feeling. They're in a minefield on this one. If they make one false move, they'll be on the wrong end of an executive order. Or maybe a red-state, Bud Light-style boycott.
Then there's the possibility that the strategic silence comes from the fact that, deep down, the Commanders (and maybe the NFL) would like to bring the name back.
Regardless, it's fair to expect the team and/or the league to have a response to the leader of the free world's effort to rescind the team's free will when it comes to what it will name itself. And it's fair to wonder whether the reason for no response is as simple as this — the Commanders are being cowardly.
