Ex-Redskins player Clint Didier sees name change as part movement to wipe out U.S. history

Clint Didier believes changing the Washington Redskins’ name will erase the history of not only the team, but this country.

Then, what’s left for future generations, when nobody is recognizing or teaching about the native tribes anymore, said the former Redskins tight end.

Soon, they’ll be removed from all official names — for schools and sports teams — and everything will be forgotten, he added.

“It’s sad because I was always told ever since I played the game, ‘Keep politics out of sports,’” Didier told the Tri-City Herald. “We are a divided country. ... We’ve lost our footing.”

The Connell native and Franklin County commissioner played for the NFL franchise for six years, followed by two full seasons with the Green Bay Packers.

While it’s been three decades since his retirement, the holder of two Super Bowl rings with the Redskins has remained vocal over the years about the prospect of a name change.

Didier said he knew the name was “meant to honor the Native Americans who were part of the early history of the team,” according to a column in The Washington Post during an unsuccessful run for Congress.

He said he and his teammates proudly wore the name on their uniforms — just as players do on other similarly named teams — because the Native Americans were brave warriors, fighters.

But the Washington Redskins are no more.

On Monday, the team announced it is retiring the controversial nickname and logo.

The decision by majority owner Dan Snyder follows pressure from big-name sponsors like FedEx, Nike and Pepsi, and calls for change and an end to systemic racism.

The team’s new moniker has yet to be announced.

Didier said he sees the movement that has been sweeping the country, but questions just how many people really wanted it changed. That typically would be evident in the sales of tickets and merchandise, which he said doesn’t appear to be a problem.

He says Snyder succumbed to pressure, and could have shopped around for other sponsors or funded the team himself. “Snyder has enough money he could buck the system for a while,” he said.

3 Super Bowls

During his time with the Redskins, Didier played in three Super Bowls — XVII in 1983 (a 27-17 win over the Miami Dolphins), XVIII in 1984 (a 38-9 loss to the Los Angeles Raiders) and XXII (a 42-10 win over the Denver Broncos) in 1988.

Didier told the Herald in a story in 2011 that he was most proud of the 8-yard touchdown pass he caught in XXII from Doug Williams.

He left the Redskins at the beginning of the 1988-89 season after a dispute over salary and his status as a free agent.

In August 1990, two weeks into his third season with the Packers, Didier retired. He then returned to Franklin County to farm near Eltopia.

In addition to holding an elected county office, Didier is chairman of the Franklin County Republican Executive Committee.

Didier admits he is disappointed in the name-change decision, but wants to know why that conversation has risen to the top with everything else happening in the United States.

“I’m just appalled at the fact that people are getting so upset at the Redskins changing their name, but they’re allowing our individual liberties in this country to be undermined,” he told the Herald.

Didier said he is “scared to death” for his kids and grandkids, wondering what will be left for their future with what is going on in the country now.

“And we’re worried about the Redskins changing their name?” he continued. “Quite frankly, I was a Redskin when I played and I’ll be a Redskin when I die.”

Didier said both he and his children have been getting requests in recent days for him to sign Redskins jerseys for people. He believes it’s the perfect opportunity for someone to cash in by making team apparel because the demand is there.

“We’ve got a sport that people are paid a lot of money to play, and people pay a lot of money to go watch, and it’s important to people because they get to pick a team ...,” he said.

“I don’t really give a rat’s behind what the hell they call them, because if they start kneeling again for the flag, I’m never watching them again. And that breaks my heart because I love (the game).”