Obama won't OK a new Redskins stadium because of the team's controversial name

(Image credit: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

published 1 July 2015

Sorry, Redskins: No name change, no new stadium. The Obama administration is really putting its foot down, and plans to block Washington, D.C. authorities from building a new stadium for the city's football team because of the controversy surrounding the racist origins of its name. And because the land where city leaders and Redskins officials want to move the new stadium is the property of the National Park Service (NPS), they're in a bit of a pickle.

Right now, the team plays out in suburban Maryland, but officials have been discussing the possibility of bringing the team back into D.C. to play at the 54-year-old Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, which is two miles east of the Capitol. Officials were hoping to demolish the old stadium, where the Redskins played from 1991 to 1996, and replace it with a brand new one.

Obama has previously said that he wishes the team's name were changed, and the Patent and Trademark office has canceled the team's trademark. However, the Redskins might once again scrape by unchanged and get their stadium. While NPS explicitly said it would not support the stadium's construction, it did say that those in favor of the stadium are "nonetheless free to pursue legislation that would authorize the construction." Moreover, with Obama's limited time left in office, blocking a pass on the football stadium likely isn't a top priority.