In 2020, the Washington Redskins’ management decided that the team’s name was “offensive.” It’s instructive that the NFL team decided to change its name to the Washington Commanders.

Those familiar with the history of sports teams in Washington, D.C., know the city’s professional baseball team for much of the 20th century was known colloquially as the “Senators.” But the transition from the most famous franchise in D.C. sports being “The Senators” to it being “The Commanders” reveals something about the political culture of the nation’s capital.