NFL Teams Split on Columbus Day: Three Post Indigenous Peoples' Day, 29 Stay Silent

No NFL team and not the league itself mentioned Columbus Day on social media Monday, according to Fox News. Three teams, the Minnesota Vikings, Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams, instead posted tributes to Indigenous Peoples' Day, and each drew critical replies.

Fox News reported that it was at least the second year in a row that no team acknowledged Columbus Day, even as non-essential federal offices, federal courts, mail delivery, most traditional banks and the U.S. bond market closed for the federal holiday. Indigenous Peoples' Day is not an official federal holiday.

What the three teams posted and how people responded

According to Fox News, the Vikings, Chiefs and Rams each recognized Indigenous Peoples' Day on their social media accounts. The other 29 teams, which Fox says usually mark nearly every holiday and some days that are not holidays at all, did not post about the day.

Fox reported that replies to all three posts included immediate corrections calling the day Columbus Day. The Chiefs said they were thanking a community working group for helping the team stay educated and honor tribes with historic ties to the region. One fan replied that he was partly Cherokee and was offended the team did not use the name Columbus Day. Fox cited this as a sign that Native Americans do not share a single view.

On the Vikings' post, a fan argued that the historical Vikings pillaged and enslaved people and suggested the team change its name. The Rams, who played Monday, were also criticized in replies after posting beforehand. One fan called Columbus the only immigrant liberals dislike.

How the holiday got here: key dates

Fox's account points to several moments in the history behind the dispute:

• Oct. 12, 1492: Columbus arrived in the Americas, the event the federal holiday commemorates.
• 1830: President Andrew Jackson, a Democrat, signed the Indian Removal Act. Fox says it led to the forced relocation of approximately 100,000 Native Americans, including during the Cherokee Trail of Tears.
• 1934: President Franklin D. Roosevelt, also a Democrat, established Columbus Day.

More recently, President Donald Trump issued a Columbus Day 2026 proclamation, Fox said. It praises Columbus as a figure whose vision and perseverance set in motion the creation of what the proclamation describes as the greatest, freest and most just nation in history.

Why it matters for fans and the league

The posts show how a holiday with a federal designation and a widely used alternative name can play out for high-profile brands. Fox argued that the silence from 29 teams suggests the league and most clubs see the day as politically charged and chose to avoid it. That is the outlet's interpretation; the teams did not explain their decisions in the material Fox reported.

For readers, the practical effects of the federal holiday were the ones Fox listed: closed federal offices and courts, no mail delivery, closed banks and a closed bond market. Indigenous Peoples' Day carries no such closures. The Fox piece also pushed back on the idea that the debate divides neatly along party lines, noting that the presidents behind the Indian Removal Act and Columbus Day were both Democrats.

The Fox report is from its OutKick sports vertical, and it includes the outlet's own commentary alongside the reporting. The characterizations of the teams' motives and of the replies are Fox's.

Source: Fox News