US President Donald Trump's attempt to meddle with an NFL team's name has led some to suggest it should be rebranded the Washington Epsteins. Composite image / Herald artists
US President Donald Trump's attempt to meddle with an NFL team's name has led some to suggest it should be rebranded the Washington Epsteins. Composite image / Herald artists
Opinion by Winston Aldworth
Winston Aldworth is Head of Sport for NZME, working alongside New Zealand’s best sports journalists in the radio and publishing teams.
Donald Trump has called for the Washington Commanders to revert to their old name, Washington Redskins.
Stephen Colbert and Scott Galloway suggested rebranding the team as the “Washington Epsteins” to highlight Trump’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump’s demands are seen as a distraction from his association with Epstein and his reversal on releasing related files.
US President Donald Trump wants his nation to be talking about anything right now other than his dead sex-pest pal Jeffrey Epstein.
And, thankfully for content-hungry sports editors around the planet, he’s now dragged the sporting world into his distraction game.
Sadly for Trump, his calls for theWashington Commanders to revert to their old name, the Washington Redskins, has prompted some commentators to call for the team to be rebranded as the “Washington Epsteins” – a long-term reminder of the name the President wants his fanbase to forget.
The “Washington Epsteins” name change has been called for by Late Show host Stephen Colbert and Pivot podcaster Scott Galloway.
Trump’s association with the dodgy financier has landed squarely in the public eye after his high-profile reversal on earlier demands that US government agencies should release all files associated with Epstein. In recent weeks, Trump appointees who, before they got their jobs, had clamoured for the release of the “Epstein Papers” have found themselves in the awkward position of now saying “nothing to see here”.
The small-but-vocal core of his electorate who bought into QAnon conspiracy theories are pretty sure there is something to see here. They’re not buying the “nothing to see” line from people that Trump put in power.
Which is where sports fans get dragged into the head of state’s circus. In 2020, the Washington Redskins changed their name to the Washington Commanders – it had been noted that the original name was offensive to indigenous Americans.
Daron Parton editorial cartoon.
Fans have warmed to the “Commanders” name change – and to the spell of good form that has followed it. It’s also been backed by new owners who took over in 2023. We’re unlikely to see a return to the Redskins, much like we won’t be seeing baseball’s Cleveland Guardians revert to the “Cleveland Indians” moniker they ditched in 2023.
Trump has this week threatened to block Washington Commanders’ plans for a new stadium if they don’t revert to the old name.
“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,” Trump posted on social media.
He also called for a return to the Cleveland Indians.
“Our great Indian people, in massive numbers, want this to happen,” he said on social media. “Their heritage and prestige is systematically being taken away from them. Times are different now than they were three or four years ago.”
Of course, it’s all a distraction dance. We’re no more likely to see the Redskins or Indians return than we are to see the Washington Epsteins take the field.
But Trump’s efforts to divert attention from his regrettable friendship might happily set a few Epstein flags fluttering among the fans at the Commanders’ first home preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals on August 19.
