Conservatives preach that local government is the best government, unless you’re Republican Montana Senator Steve Daines, who is single-handedly blocking the sale of site of the abandoned RFK Stadium in Washington, DC, the Washington Post reports. During a Energy and Natural Resources subcommittee on National Parks hearing, Daines demanded the Washington Commanders, the NFL team that was one of the sports teams that played in RFK stadium acknowledge the contributions of Walter “Blackie” Wetzel and members of the Blackfeet Tribe.
Wetzel helped with the design of the team’s previous logo, when the Washington football club used a racial epithet as the team’s mascot, imagery abandoned by the team in 2019 for being racist against Native Americans, a logo and image Daines demands be enshrined, although Daines has not outlined what exactly would satisfy his demands.
Note that the Washington Commanders are a private organization owned by a non-public corporation, and they have not played in the stadium since 1996, prior to the current ownership’s–as well as the club’s immediate past ownership group–controlling the team. RFK Stadium sits on 195 acres of land in downtown DC, land that would be turned over to city control after the stadium’s demolition. The site is destined to be the new home of the Commanders, who currently play at a stadium in Maryland.