TRUMP SLAMS REDSKINS, INDIANS FOR CONSIDERING NAME CHANGES
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday criticized a pair of pro sports teams that are considering name changes in the wake of a national reckoning over racial injustice and inequality.
Trump tweeted, “They name teams out of STRENGTH, not weakness, but now the Washington Redskins & Cleveland Indians, two fabled sports franchises, look like they are going to be changing their names in order to be politically correct.”
Trump, in his tweet, also mentioned Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, saying, “Indians, like Elizabeth Warren, must be very angry right now!” Trump has repeatedly mocked Warren, who ran for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, for claiming Native American heritage, derisively calling her “Pocahontas.”
On Monday, more than a dozen Native American leaders and organizations sent a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell calling for the league to force Redskins owner Dan Snyder to change the name immediately.
The letter was signed by 15 Native American advocates and obtained by The Associated Press. It demands the team and the NFL cease the use of Native American names, imagery and logos — with specific importance put on Washington, which last week launched a “thorough review” of its name.
The Redskins’ decision came after FedEx, which paid $205 million for naming rights to the team’s stadium, and other corporate partners called for the team to change its nickname.
Hours later, the Indians Major League Baseball team announced that they, too, will review their long-debated name.
“We are committed to making a positive impact in our community and embrace our responsibility to advance social justice and equality,” the team said in a statement.
Trump rips NASCAR, Wallace
Also Monday, NASCAR’s layered relationship with Trump took a sharp turn when the president took a sideswipe at the racing organization for banning the Confederate flag and wrongly accused the sport’s only full-time Black driver, Bubba Wallace, of perpetrating “a hoax” when a crew member found a noose in the team garage stall. “Has @BubbaWallace apologized to all of those great NASCAR drivers & officials who came to his aid, stood by his side, & were willing to sacrifice everything for him, only to find out that the whole thing was just another HOAX?” Trump tweeted. “That & Flag decision has caused lowest ratings EVER!”
Federal authorities ruled last month the noose had been hanging since October and was not a hate crime.
SILVER SPRING, Md. — Uber has widened its reach in the fiercely competitive delivery market by acquiring Postmates in a $2.65 billion all-stock deal, the company said Monday.
The acquisition enables the ride-hailing giant to increase its delivery offerings at a time when the global pandemic has suppressed customers’ desire for rides while boosting home delivery needs. While Uber’s meal delivery business, Uber Eats, has mostly focused on restaurants, Postmates delivers a wider array of goods, including groceries, pharmacy items, alcoholic drinks and party supplies.
“The vision for us is to become an everyday service,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a conference call with investors Monday. “Postmates is a great step along that vision. Any place you want to go, anything you want delivered to your home, Uber is going to be there with you, and we think these everyday frequent interactions create a habit — create a connection with customers.”
Uber and its Uber Eats division will gain ground against DoorDash, which controls about 44% of the U.S. meal delivery market. That’s compared with Uber Eats’ 23% share before the Postmates deal. Grubhub and its subsidiaries had just under 23% of the U.S. meal delivery market, according to May figures from Second Measure, a data analysis company. Postmates had about 8% of the market.
Last month, Uber lost out in a bid for Grubhub. But Amsterdam-based Just Eat Takeaway.com ended up nabbing Chicago’s Grubhub in a $7.3 billion deal. Uber was reportedly seeking to team Grubhub with its Uber Eats business. The food delivery sector is undergoing a major consolidation this year, and more is expected.