President Donald Trump criticized the Washington Redskins and the Cleveland Indians on Twitter for considering the changes to the names of their respective teams, accusing the teams of “trying to be politically correct.”
Trump tweeted Monday that the NFL Redskins and MLB Indians are “legendary sports franchises.” He also mocked Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, who has claimed to be of Native American descent and has been a frequent target of Trump attacks.
They name teams because of STRENGTH, not weakness, but now the Indians of the Washington Redskins and Cleveland, two legendary sports franchises, look like they are going to change their names to be politically correct. Indians, like Elizabeth Warren, must be very angry right now!
– Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 6, 2020
It was the second tweet of the day related to sport and racially accused of Trump, who on Monday called NASCAR for banning the Confederate flag and accused Bubba Wallace, the only black driver of the sport, of perpetrating a “HOAX” involving a knot in his garage last month at Talladega Superspeedway.
The Redskins appear to change their name amid a national movement to erase racially insensitive symbols, given the national focus on human rights and social justice after George Floyd’s death in Minnesota.
Washington coach Ron Rivera told The Washington Post on Saturday that he has been working with team owner Daniel Snyder on a new team nickname for the past few weeks. The Redskins announced Friday that they “will undergo a thorough review” of the nickname after several sponsors, including FedEx, which owns the team’s stadium name rights, urged the franchise to change a nickname that has been deemed offensive during decades.
The Indians also released a statement on Friday, saying the organization is “committed to engaging our community and appropriate stakeholders to determine the best path to follow regarding our team’s name.”
Trump has previously defended the Redskins’ name on Twitter. In October 2013, he tweeted that presidents “should not be telling the Washington Redskins to change their names” and accused then-President Barack Obama of “harassing the privately owned franchise.”
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