The Commander-in-Chief has tried to tie a new D.C. stadium for the Commanders to a return to the abandoned nickname. The chair of the D.C. Council seems to have no problem with that.
Consider this quote from Grant Paulsen of 106.7 the Fan in D.C., regarding his Tuesday interview with Phil Mendelson: “He suggested the past DC opposition of the team moving back into the city while named Redskins had more to do with Dan Snyder than the name. Suggested he would have no problem with DC welcoming the team back with the name Redskins now.”
Mendelson not being opposed to the name is a far cry from the Commanders reverting to it. Owner Josh Harris has said they won’t.
Still, the silence from the team since President Trump devoted a pair of social-media posts to the issue has been deafening. On Sunday, after each of Trump’s messages, the Commanders said nothing. On Monday, after his press secretary said he was serious about the situation, the Commanders said nothing.
While it’s possible that they simply don’t want to risk being on the wrong end of a ready-fire-aim executive order, it’s also possible that, deep down, the Commander wouldn’t be particularly upset about being forced to change their name as part of getting a D.C. stadium.
Prediction? At a minimum, the old logo is coming back. And it’s possible the name will, too.
