The Cleveland Indians are seriously thinking about making a change.
This proud Major League baseball team, who have been known as the ‘Indians’ since 1915, have been undergoing a thorough organizational review on whether to change its team nickname.
Recently, the NFL’s Washington Redskins made it official in breaking tradition by dropping the ‘Redskins’ team name and the CFL’s Edmonton Eskimos, who also received pressure over its team name also announced they would be making a change.
During this period of civil unrest various teams such as the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks and Major League Baseball’s Atlanta Braves and Cleveland Indians have been taking a closer look than ever about whether to make that team name change.
While the Braves aren’t ready, the Indians have taken that next step in their review on what to do.
The Indians, who have been pressured for years by various Native American leaders to change their name, will according to team owner Paul Dolan get a chance to be heard.
According to Dolan, following a meeting on Thursday, July 23rd with manager Terry Francona and players he came out with a statement which read;
“As we approach Opening Day, I wanted to provide an update regarding our team name and our plan moving forward. In our July 3rd statement, we shared a commitment to listening and learning from our community, and we appreciate the passionate response over the past several weeks. Earlier this week, I had a candid and productive meeting with Terry and our players, where they expressed their desire to help our organization in the process. Our players care about the organization and feel strongly about social justice and racial equality. I support their interest in using their platform to unite our city and our nation through their actions.
As I explained to our players, I am invested in engaging our community and appropriate stakeholders to help determine the best path forward with regard to our team name. In the coming weeks, we will engage Native American leaders to better understand their perspectives, meet with local civic leaders, and continue to listen to the perceptions of our players, fans, partners and employees. We feel a real sense of urgency to discuss these perspectives with key shareholders while also taking the time needed to ensure those conversations are inclusive and meaningful.
We will continue to share periodic updates as we make progress. In the meantime, we are excited for our team to return to the field to continue our pursuit of a World Series Championship.”
Last season, the Indians had the Chief Wahoo logo, which is the smiling red Indian face, permanently removed from their uniform sleeve and batting helmet.
This iconic logo which came into existence in 1947, was seen as racist and offensive by certain people.
Before being called the Indians, this Cleveland franchise had team nicknames such as Naps. Bronchos and Blues.
No timetable has been given by the Indians as to when they will reach a decision about possibly changing their name.
Photo Cutline- Former Cleveland Indians flashy infielder Omar Vizquel signing some autographs for fans. The controversial Chief Wahoo team logo, which is shown on Vizquel’s hat and shirt, was officially removed prior to the 2019 season.
Photo Credit- Picture on internet but doesn’t say who took the picture.
