The Washington Commanders dropped “Redskins” from its name and retired its controversial logo in 2020. However, some elements of the NFL team’s old identity may be restored. Last week, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved advancing legislation that will fund the restoration of the dilapidated RFK stadium site.
Managing partner Josh Harris recently addressed this issue and shared an update on the issue of relocation. Commanders who were previously known as the Redskins played their football at RFK from 1961 to 1996.
Congress Passed The RFK Bill And Here’s What It Means For The Commanders
The Commanders made it to the Super Bowl five times while winning three of them at that site. But then the team moved to Maryland, where they currently play at Northwest Stadium, which hasn’t really been lucky for them. For Harris who bought the team in 2023, RFK was always a top priority since he has been a childhood fan of the team and has an emotional connect to the RFK site. And now with news of the Senate passing this bill Harris has released a statement sharing his hope.
“We are extremely grateful that our elected officials have come together on a bipartisan basis to give Washington D.C. the opportunity to decide on the future of the RFK stadium site,” he said in a statement.
The team would like to be in its next stadium by 2030, as per Harris. The NFL’s two newest venues, Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas and SoFi Stadium in California took two-and-a-half years and nearly four years to build respectively. If the Commanders strike a deal with a jurisdiction in 2025, they can reach their goal. The Commanders own Northwest Stadium and the surrounding property, and they have a covenant with Prince George’s County so they can play home games at Northwest Stadium until at least September 2027.
But it’s common knowledge that most Commanders fans want the Redskins name back too. Many Redskins supporters are also emotionally invested in the team’s emblem, which was inspired by Chief John Two Guns White Calf and was developed by Blackfeet Nation chief Walter “Blackie” Wetzel. It was taken down in 2020 as the logo of a native Indian man with feathers was deemed culturally inappropriate.
However, Harris stated that the team will not return to its old name. “For obvious reasons, the old name can’t come back. The first objective is we got to start winning football games and we need everyone supporting the team and not things that might, you know, drive people apart,” he told Fox News.