Editorial: Keep it RFK Stadium
By • December 9, 2025 0 4
Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium is no more. Opened in 1961, it was the home of baseball and football games, soccer matches, boxing and rock concerts. The location remains “the RFK site,” awaiting a new stadium for the Washington Commanders, once known as the Redskins.
The team’s original name is gone for good, but the “RFK” should stay put. Yes, build a new, state-of-the-art facility, but keep the same name: RFK Stadium.
Why? Not just for the words “Victory at RFK!” to ring out again.
Other names and logos should be welcomed elsewhere, but the stadium’s rededication to Robert Francis Kennedy Sr. will transmit a powerful message — beyond sports, entertainment and corporate branding — of the original audacity of hope.
It is worth noting that, along with his brother, President John F. Kennedy, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy forced the integration of the Washington Redskins, the last NFL team to desegregate, in 1962.
Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June of 1968, when he was a Democratic senator from New York and a candidate for president. District of Columbia Stadium was renamed for and dedicated to him the following year.
Though there are echoes of the tumultuous 1960s in America today, our current divisiveness does not compare. The decade saw the assassinations of Medgar Evers, JFK, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr. and RFK; the Vietnam War buildup; widespread antiwar protests; and clashes over civil rights and women’s rights.
Yet, though 1968 was a heartbreaking year, there remained an American optimism.
“Lessons from Bobby: Ten Reasons Robert F. Kennedy Still Matters” was published on Nov. 11, the centennial of RFK’s birth. Among the lessons listed by author Chris Matthews: “Heal the Divide,” “Have Some Guts,” “Admit Your Mistakes,” “Enforce the Law” and “Sacrifice.”
During his brief campaign for the presidency, RFK seemed to emanate love, wisdom and compassion, bringing people together with his optimistic vision for the country. Let the new stadium silently honor those virtues, both to renew the spirit of our nation’s capital and to inspire new generations of Americans.
