The NFL regular season is close at hand with preseason soon to become a shimmering heat-haze memory. But one high-profile summer controversy looks like it will persist with clarity.

It began when the president of the United States turned his gaze on the recently renamed Washington Commanders. Donald Trump denounced the football team's 2020 decision to drop its longtime name following protests that it was a racial slur.

"The Washington ‘Whatever’s’ should IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team," Trump wrote in a July 20 post on Truth Social.

For good measure, Trump threatened to derail the team's new stadium deal, something it's not clear if he has the power to do.

The president expanded his ire to Major League Baseball, also calling on the former "Cleveland Indians," now Guardians, to

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