Three NFL Teams Roasted for Celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day on Columbus Day, Which No Team Even Mentioned

Christopher Columbus gets absolutely no love from the NFL.

It’s fair to believe this, because on the federal holiday honoring Christopher Columbus and his place in American history, not a single NFL team or the league itself acknowledged Columbus Day on social media.

This is at least the second year in a row that no NFL team has mentioned Columbus Day, even though nonessential federal offices, federal courts, mail delivery, most traditional banks and the U.S. bond market have closed their doors in recognition of the holiday.

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Protesters participate in the Columbus Day Parade along Main Street in Huntington, New York on October 13, 2024. (James Carbone/Newsday RM via Getty Images)

And this is starting to feel like a statement for two reasons:

First, three teams chose this day to recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day, which is not an official federal holiday, while ignoring the man whose landing in America in 1492 marks this federally recognized holiday.

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Second, 29 teams that usually take the opportunity to celebrate just about any other holiday and some days that aren’t holidays at all decided to go completely dark during this holiday.

This suggests that teams recognize that this day has become something of a political hot potato. And the NFL and most of its teams have decided not to get burned.

Portrait of Christopher Columbus, 1519. Found in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Artist: Piombo, Sebastiano, del (1485-1547). (Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

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This did not apply to the Minnesota Vikings, Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams. All three paid tribute to Indigenous Peoples’ Day on their social media.

But this cry came at a cost, as the responses to each post sparked significant backlash.

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All three teams who posted about Indigenous Peoples’ Day received immediate corrections in their responses calling it Columbus Day.

And frankly, it was too easy.

But there were other clever responses, notably from the Vikings, because it did not escape the attention that the team is nicknamed in honor of the Whites, the conquering underdogs.

“The Vikings were known to pillage, rape, massacre, burn and enslave their victims,” one fan responded on the Minnesota post. “They have terrorized innocent people in coastal communities, including monasteries, for centuries, and even killed and enslaved women and children on a large scale.

“You better change your name too.”

The message ended with a clown face emoji.

The leaders honored Indigenous Peoples Day to “show our gratitude for the work the Native American Community Task Force has done to ensure we remain educated and honor tribes with a historical connection to our region.”

Cool, except Native Americans are not a group of people with one opinion.

“I’m part Cherokee Indian and I’m offended that you don’t call it Columbus Day,” one fan responded.

The Rams played Monday, but before that, they posted their salute on Indigenous Peoples Day. The team, located in a liberal city and state, received significant criticism.

“Christopher Columbus,” one fan posted, “The only liberal immigrants hate.”

Can you understand why a vast majority of teams have completely avoided the holidays and the issues surrounding them?

President Donald Trump, meanwhile, recently issued a Columbus Day 2026 proclamation that calls Columbus “a legend whose vision, courage, and perseverance ignited a historic dynamic that led to the creation of the greatest, freest, and just nation in history.”

President Donald Trump said he would resurrect Columbus Day from the ashes, after Democrats did everything they could to tarnish the historic figure’s reputation. (Getty Images)

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There are probably people who believe that this political football presents Republicans who promote Columbus Day as racists and Democrats who promote Indigenous Peoples’ Day as enlightened.

Except that the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which led to the forced removal of approximately 100,000 Native Americans, notably during the Cherokee Trail of Tears, was signed by Andrew Jackson, a Democrat.

And Columbus Day was established in 1934 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to celebrate the arrival of Columbus in the Americas on October 12, 1492.

Roosevelt was also a Democrat.

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