Jason Buck urges Trump to help restore Redskins name
- Jason Buck, a former NFL player for the Washington Redskins, expresses a desire to regain the team's former name, emphasizing its emotional significance.
- Buck has joined efforts with the Native American Guardians Association to promote education on the topic and advocate for the old name.
- Despite the push for reinstatement from Buck and some former players, the current ownership insists on retaining the name Commanders, indicating a definitive stance against reverting to the Redskins.
In the United States, former Washington Redskins defensive lineman Jason Buck is advocating for the return of his former team’s original name, which was changed in 2020 due to controversy surrounding its origins. Buck, who won a Super Bowl with the team during the 1991 season, expressed his deep emotional attachment to the Redskins name, equating its loss to the pain of losing a family member. He stated that the change felt like someone uprooting his household, as it stripped away cherished memories and traditions associated with the team. Buck, who identifies as a Native American, has joined the Native American Guardians Association to educate those against the name's return. He has offered to meet with Donald Trump, who recently expressed that the team made a mistake in changing its name, in hopes of enlisting Trump’s influence to advocate for the name’s reinstatement. Though Trump believes that team performance is key to fan loyalty, commanding support for the Commanders’ name, Buck and many of his former teammates remain connected to the original team name, feeling a strong sense of loss and longing for the past. Despite this, the current owner of the team, Josh Harris, has emphasized that he intends to move forward with the Commanders name and has no plans to revert back to the Redskins name, even as the organization leans slightly more into its rich history. He believes that the name Commanders has started to develop a positive association within the team culture and is also reflective of their military-oriented community in the Washington, D.C. area. As the Commanders build their identity and seek long-term success, the debate around the former name continues, creating a divide among fans and former players who feel deeply about their team's legacy.