Trump Threat Over Stadium If Washington Do Not Revert To Redskins

President Donald Trump has threatened to artifact a woody for nan Washington Commanders' caller stadium if nan American shot squad does not revert to their original name.

The US president said successful a station connected Truth Social connected Sunday that a "big clamouring" exists for nan "Washington Whatevers" to alteration backmost to nan Redskins and claimed it would make nan squad "more valuable".

The NFL squad dropped nan sanction Redskins successful July 2020 aft a reappraisal arsenic it was agelong considered racist and violative to Native Americans. They were called nan Washington Football Team during nan 2020 play earlier changing to nan Commanders successful 2022.

In April, a woody was agreed for nan Commanders to build a caller £3bn, 65,000-seater stadium astatine nan tract wherever RFK Stadium - their location from 1961 to 1997 - still stands.

Last week, DC Council were urged to velocity up approving nan stadium, external plans by a apical Republican politician.

Trump wrote: "I whitethorn put a regularisation connected them that if they don't alteration nan sanction backmost to nan original Washington Redskins and get free of nan ridiculous moniker Washington Commanders I won't make a woody for them to build a stadium successful Washington.

"The squad would beryllium overmuch much valuable and nan woody would beryllium much breathtaking for everyone."

In February this year, Trump made history erstwhile he became nan first sitting president of nan USA to be nan Super Bowl arsenic nan Philadelphia Eagles hit nan Kansas City Chiefs 40-22.

Trump besides urged Major League Baseball broadside nan Cleveland Guardians to alteration their sanction backmost to nan Cleveland Indians, having changed it successful 2021.

"Our awesome Indian people, successful monolithic numbers, want this to happen," Trump said. "Their practice and prestige is systematically being taken distant from them."

Guardians squad president Chris Antonetti told The Athletic: "Not thing I'm search aliases paying a batch of attraction to.

"But I would opportunity generally, I understand location are very different perspectives connected nan determination we made a fewer years ago. It's a determination we made and we've gotten nan opportunity to build nan marque arsenic nan Guardians complete nan past 4 years and we're excited astir nan future."

Earlier this twelvemonth The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) issued a connection "in consequence to caller nationalist endorsements by governmental figures supporting unsanctioned Native 'themed' mascots - a stance that NCAI and Tribal leaders nationwide unequivocally reject".

"These depictions are not tributes - they are rooted successful racism, taste appropriation, and intentional ignorance. For excessively long, they person perpetuated harmful stereotypes that degrade, dehumanize, and sojourn harm connected nan well-being of Native peoples," it added.

BBC Sport has contacted nan Washington Commanders for comment.