Von Miller Was Excited When The Washington Redskins (His Words) Called Him
The newly signed pass rusher is seemingly the only one in Washington willing to mention the team's banned nickname
During the early portion of training camp, the Washington Commanders have been mum about the idea that they should change their nickname back to the Washington Redskins, and do not even utter the word Redskins with one notable exception – Von Miller.
He was a free agent in the offseason after the Buffalo Bills cut him in a cost-saving move, and he wasn't too thrilled about being unemployed. But then, he says, the Washington "Redskins" called.
Von Miller is thrilled to be employed by the Washington Redskins, er, Commanders. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
Von Miller Is Obviously Old School
"I'm excited to be here, 15th year in the league," Miller said Thursday at his introductory press conference. "It never gets old, especially being out of work for four months, perspective kind of changes a little bit.
"Back when you were young, you was like, ‘Man, why we gotta go to OTAs man? I wish I was home, man.’ And you sit on the couch for four months, and it's like, ‘Man, I wish I was in OTAs, man.’ 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.
"And 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. Yeah, about a week and a day ago. And here I am so excited to be here."
Miller, 36, has played a lot of games against the Redskins during his career, so he probably just misspoke rather than intentionally trying to send a message of some sort. No matter.
Trump Serious About Return Of Redskins
Cue the outrage from a certain segment of the population. And the smiles from the other side.
The nickname for Washington's football team, currently known as the Commanders, has been a topic du jour since President Donald Trump turned it into a news story. The President, you see, wants the Redskins nickname back.
And he has floated the idea of taking measures to cajole the franchise to go back to its traditional nickname, tying it to the club's ability to build a new nearly $4 billion stadium at the old RFK Stadium site.
And he was totally serious.
This has been a political football for some time.
Washington coach Dan Quinn and general manager Adam Peters were asked about the topic earlier this week and they punted. Wanted nothing to do with it.
Photo by Wally McNamee/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images
Commanders Trying To Avoid Topic
Truth is, no one connected with the team, save Miller, has uttered the word Redskins since Trump brought up the subject, and that includes club owner Josh Harris, who has the ultimate say over the matter, and even co-owner Magic Johnson, who is very vocal on social media about the football team.
Silence from all sectors.
But the franchise, try as it might, cannot vacate its 83-year history as the Redskins.
The team's own website hearkens to Redskins. The push for a return to the old RFK stadium site has a sort of battle cry: "Fight for old D.C."
That's a line from the team's fight song, whose opening line is "Hail to the Redskins." That page, by the way, shows Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs wearing his cap with an R emblazoned on it. Guess what the R represented?
Redskins.
Receiver Art Monk was a member of the Redskins. Mandatory Credit: Manny Rubio-USA TODAY Sports
Art Monk Redskins Jersey Retired
Indeed, the club uses the phrase "Raise Hail" as a rallying cry. So, yes, back to Hail to the Redskins because there is no Hail to the Commanders.
The club this year is retiring Art Monk's jersey No. 81.
It's a big deal for the Hall of Fame receiver and the club to the extent that the event has its own landing page on the team's website. The page is dedicated to the jersey retirement ceremony on Nov. 2.
That page shows Monk in his Redskins uniform with the traditional Redskins logo on his helmet.
So, try as they might, this franchise cannot run away from the fact they were the Redskins and many people will always think of them as the Redskins. Von Miller may have reminded them of that on Thursday.