Linebacker Von Miller referred to the Washington Commanders as the “Washington Redskins” during his first day on the job.
At an introductory press conference, Miller took the stage at the Commanders facility as the team welcomed the two-time Super Bowl champion to their squad ahead of the 2025 season.
But on minute one of day one, Miller made a reference that could not have been timed better.
‘The Washington Redskins called me a month and a half ago …’
“I’m excited to be here, 15th year in the league,” Miller began on Thursday. “It never gets old, especially being out of work for four months, perspective kind of changes a little bit.”
Miller reminisced about being able to pick up and drop off his kids from school during his time off, but he said he missed team activities and practices.
“It’s good dropping the kids off, and it’s good picking the kids up from school, but I want to go to work, I want to go to work,” he continued.
Then, Miller said what no one was expecting.
“The Washington Redskins called me a month and a half ago and started talking and agreed to come here to Washington about a week and a day ago. And here I am, so excited to be here,” he said.
While Miller’s “Redskins” remark could have been a mistake, given that was the team’s name for most of his 36 years on Earth, no correction was made, and everyone at the press conference moved on.
The timing is definitely interesting, though.
Just days earlier, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt followed up on President Trump’s recent declaration that the Commanders should change their name back to the Redskins “immediately.”
Trump even said he would consider blocking the Commanders’ new D.C. stadium from being built if they did not change the name.
“I won’t make a deal for them to build a Stadium in Washington,” he wrote on Truth Social.
A reporter asked Leavitt on Monday, “Was the president serious, or was he joking?”
“The president was serious,” Leavitt replied. “As part of the art of the deal, part of his negotiating skills, as you know, sports is one of the many passions of this president, and he wants to see the name of that team change.”
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Leavitt continued, “If you actually poll this issue with sports fans across the country and even in this city, people actually do support the president’s position on this and the name change.”
A 2024 poll by the Washington Post showed just 32% of Commanders fans specifically liked or loved their team name, while 57% of the team’s fans said they dislike or hate the name.
This May, a Washington Post-Schar School poll showed the name had become more popular, with 50% of locals and 62% of Commanders fans saying they “like” or “love” the name.
At the same time, 36% of D.C. residents do not like the name, with 9% saying they “hate” it. For Commanders fans specifically, 33% don’t like the name and 8% hate it.
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