Washington Commanders' new uniform ignites firestorm
I had to scrap my original thoughts on the Washington Commanders new uniformas because a firestorm erupted on Friday.
Thee reaction to the Washington Commanders' new uniform reveal on Wednesday, April 15, predictably elicited a wide array of reactions and all of them were valid.
Some fans loved the "new" jerseys' resemblance to the uniforms the team wore when it was called the Redskins, not too long ago. Others hated the fact that the team played it safe when they had the opportunity to update the old look.
Some loved the new black uniforms, which are a black version of the normal kit. Others hated the fact that the new spear, which appears to pierce the heart of the "W" on the helmet, is a ballistic anomaly.
The final product didn't just hit with fans of the team; the entire league watched what the team did with their hype video.
But not everyone loved the new redesign, including the Washington Post.
The Commanders' new -- and familiar -- look: pic.twitter.com/TzBDQC0dBK
— John Keim (@john_keim) April 15, 2026
Washington Post reporter has a bad feeling about the new Washington Commanders jerseys
The Washington Post's Les Carpenter doesn't seem to be a fan of the new Washington Commanders jersey redesign, specifically the black alternate uniforms.
"The alternate 'Hell Raiser' (sic, it's actually called 'Hail Raiser') uniform's helmet is black, with the same blocky burgundy-and-gold W as the regular helmet. But it includes a spear going through the middle of the W, an unmistakable nod to the large group of fans who have begged owner Josh Harris to change the team's largely unpopular name and possibly return to 'Redskins'," Carpenter wrote in his column.
"Still, the spear is likely to upset some Native Americans and other fans who have demanded the team not use any Native imagery," Carpenter said. And man was he right.
I reached out to the Association on American Indian Affairs and they agreed with Carpenter, saying the teams use of the terms "warrior" and "spirit... invokes the same stereotypes that caused the harm in the first place."
The organization notes that the change comes a year after President Donald Trump called for a return to the team's old name and logo.
The team didn't immediately return a request for comment, but team President Mark Clouse went on local D.C. radio to say that after consulting with fans and team alumni, the two guiding principals the team followed during the uniform's redesign is returning the team's burugundy and gold color scheme to where it was before fomer owner Dan Snyder changed it, and "we want to feel like those elements we loved when we were winning Super Bowls is part of what this next generation of Commanders is all about."
The Washington Redskins helmet logo changed multiple times during the 50s, 60s, and 70s. The feather helmet that the team used between 1958 and 1964 was replaced by the spear helmet from 1965 to 1969, the R with a circle around it helmet from '70 to '71 and finally, an image of Blackfeet chief John Two Guns White Calf from 1972 to 2020.
When asked about the team's thinking process for adding the spear back, Clouse said
Where it started from was really in the same idea of how do we look back at the heritage of the team and think about things from our past that could also be relavent today. The spear became a really obvious opportunity because it is instantly recognizable from the
past of the Redskins... but it can also live in the Commanders environment that we've been building which kind of this combination of the movie 300, and Game of Thrones and a little bit of Roman-Greco in there. The spear lives in that world as well and so it became what we felt was a great device to connect these generations together.
Clouse also said the team would be looking to bring other elements from its past to the fore in the future.
Friday afternoon, after the news broke that Native American organizations were not happy with the move, the team put out another video celebrating the Hail Raiser uniforms, so it doesn't seem they are going anywhere for the time being.
Hail Raiser pic.twitter.com/UgSMSYVJNO
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) April 17, 2026
Related: Washington Commanders build anticipation for jersey refresh
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This story was originally published April 18, 2026 at 11:25 AM.