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Bayless, always eager to ride the woke wave, cheered on the change, hammering Snyder and repeating his claim that “Redskins” was a racial slur that had to go.
But leave it to Donald Trump to revive a debate everyone thought was buried. The former and now-current President called out the rebranding charade directly on Truth Social:
“The Washington ‘Whatever’s’ should IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team. There is a big clamoring for this.”
He didn’t stop there. Trump also called out Cleveland’s baseball team, saying the “Indians” should return. And then he raised the stakes — threatening to block a stadium deal if the Commanders refused to return to their roots:
“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.”
That wasn’t empty bluster. The federal government controls the RFK Stadium land — and Trump now holds the keys. Team owner Josh Harris, watching his team reach the NFC Championship with rookie phenom Jayden Daniels, may soon face a decision that could define the franchise’s future.
Then came the shocker. Skip Bayless — the same guy who slammed the Redskins name for years — posted this on X:
“Maybe I’m being just another naively arrogant white person, but I do miss Washington D.C.’s NFL team being called the Redskins.”
The outrage machine’s golden boy suddenly longing for the past? It stunned both sides of the aisle. Bayless later elaborated in a video:
“If someone can conclusively demonstrate that a majority of tribal leaders across America are all for the return of Redskins and Indians as team nicknames, then I would be all for it.”
At the same time, he repeated his own contradiction:
“To me, Redskins remains a racist nickname… What if an NFL team had been nicknamed the ‘Blackskins’?”
Yet even he couldn’t ignore the truth: “Commanders” feels bland and disconnected. The original name had legacy, pride, and generational loyalty behind it. Bayless acknowledged the divide among tribal leaders and hoped for a renewed conversation:
“We went through this a number of years ago back in my First Take days. Some tribal leaders would speak out pro and some would speak out con… if you showed me that a consensus were now pro… I’m just hoping this will at least spark a new wave of debate.”
He didn’t stop there. On his podcast, Bayless even confessed that “Commanders” makes him “flinch” and sounds “dumber than ever.”
Bayless’s demand for tribal consensus exposed a truth the media tried to suppress for years. A 2016 Washington Post poll of Native Americans found 90% didn’t object to the Redskins name. A follow-up in 2019 showed 68% still didn’t find it offensive. Even UC Berkeley’s 2020 survey, which pegged opposition at 49%, found massive splits based on cultural ties.
But the most powerful blow came from Native Americans themselves.
The Native American Guardians Association filed a federal lawsuit in 2023 calling for the return of the Redskins name. Their petition gathered 150,000 signatures. Their argument was clear:
“Commanders is a fitting name for oppressors.”
They weren’t outsiders. The Redskins logo was modeled after Blackfoot Chief John Two Guns White Calf — and it was designed by Walter “Blackie” Wetzel, a tribal leader and former president of the National Congress of American Indians.
So the very logo critics called offensive was, in fact, created by Native Americans to honor one of their own.
The leftist frenzy of 2020 now feels like a distant memory. With Trump back in office, cultural course-correction is well underway.
Americans have grown weary of watching cherished institutions collapse to satisfy activist mobs and corporate PR teams. A 2024 Washington Post poll showed growing support for the Commanders name — but that doesn’t mean it’s loved. It just means people were worn down.
Bayless voiced what many fans already feel: the old name meant something. “Commanders” doesn’t.
As Trump flexes real power over the stadium deal, the team may soon be forced to weigh tradition over trends. And if Skip Bayless’s flip-flop is any indicator, even the cancel crowd is starting to realize something was lost.
Corporate America thought they could end the Redskins debate by pressuring sponsors and slapping on a new name.
But Trump — and now even Skip Bayless — are making it clear: this fight isn’t over. If Native leaders support the name’s return, why should woke executives and media elites get the final word?
The Redskins logo honored Native heritage. The name carried nearly a century of pride. And as the culture shifts once again, the push to bring it back may be stronger — and more legitimate — than ever.
