Scott Turner, HUD secretary and ex-Redskins player, backs Trump's pressure on Commanders to bring back moniker
President Donald Trump received support from Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner amid the push for the Washington Commanders to ditch its current nickname in favor of the Redskins.
Turner was an NFL defensive back for eight years. He played for the Washington Redskins, San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos from 1995 to 2003 before he called it a career.
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He wrote a message in reply to Trump on Sunday.
"I played in the NFL and was drafted by the Washington Redskins. Not the ‘Washington Football Team’ or the ‘Commanders,’" he wrote on X. "@POTUS is right. It’s time to bring the Redskins’ name back."
The Redskns selected Turner in the seventh round of the 1995 draft. He played three seasons in Washington. He had 106 tackles and five interceptions in his career.
Trump put the blitz on the Commanders, and the Cleveland Guardians of MLB, on Sunday with two Truth Social posts.
"The Washington ‘Whatever’s’ should IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team. There is a big clamoring for this," Trump wrote first. "Likewise, the Cleveland Indians, one of the six original baseball teams, with a storied past.
"Our great Indian people, in massive numbers, want this to happen. Their heritage and prestige is systematically being taken away from them. Times are different now than they were three or four years ago. We are a Country of passion and common sense. OWNERS, GET IT DONE!!!"
Then, he threatened to put the Commanders’ deal to take over the old RFK Stadium site in jeopardy if they didn’t revert to the name.
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"My statement on the Washington Redskins has totally blown up, but only in a very positive way," Trump wrote in a second Truth Social post. "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. The Team would be much more valuable, and the Deal would be more exciting for everyone."
Daniel Snyder changed Washington’s team name from the Washington Redskins to the Washington Football Team before the start of the 2020 season amid a summer of racial tensions. The team eventually became the Washington Commanders, and Snyder sold the team to Josh Harris.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Commanders for comment. Harris has made clear he has no intention of changing the nickname again.
Harris said on Fox News Channel’s "Special Report" in April that the team would not bring back the Redskins name even with plans to build a new stadium in Washington, D.C.
"The Commanders’ name actually has taken on an amazing kind of element in our building," Harris responded to Bret Baier’s question about the Redskins name coming back as part of this new stadium deal. "So, the people that certain types of players that are tough, that love football, are delegated Commanders and Jayden [Daniels], for example, is a Commander, and they're ranked.
"And, you know, the business staff has gotten into it, and obviously, we're in a military city here. There's more military personnel than anywhere else, so we're kind of moving forward with the Commanders name, excited about that, and not looking back."
Fox News’ Scott Thompson contributed to this report.
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