# Cleveland baseball team to drop ‘Indians’ name



## Arm Pit Cream (Dec 14, 2020)

https://globalnews.ca/news/7520345/cleveland-indians-name-change-racist/
		

https://archive.md/fKg2N
Major League Baseball’s Cleveland franchise will no longer be known as the Indians, amid a broader reckoning for sports teams that use racist tropes in their branding.

“It’s time,” owner Paul Dolan told the Associated Press on Monday. “The name is no longer acceptable in our world.”

Dolan said the team will continue to be called Indians until a new name is chosen.

“We’ll be the Indians in 2021 and then after that, it’s a difficult and complex process to identify a new name and do all the things you do around activating that name,” Dolan said. “We are going to work at as quick a pace as we can while doing it right.

“But we’re not going to do something just for the sake of doing it. We’re going to take the time we need to do it right.”


The change was first reported by the New York Times. ESPN later confirmed the report.

The team has been known as the Indians for 105 years, though it has faced accusations of racism for many decades. The franchise has co-opted many Indigenous elements and stereotypes over the years, including the “Tribe” nickname and its caricatured mascot, Chief Wahoo.

Cleveland dropped Chief Wahoo as its mascot in 2019 amid accusations of racism.

Outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump waded into the conversation late Sunday, calling it a case of “cancel culture at work” on Twitter.


Trump has frequently denounced cancel culture as a tool of his political foes. He has also used cancel culture as a tool to punish brands he doesn’t like, including Goodyear, HBO, Harley Davidson and Nike.

The name change comes less than a year after Washington’s NFL franchise dropped “Redskins,” a racist slur, as its nickname. Washington made the change after sponsors threatened to pull their support from the team during the summer amid major anti-racism protests in the United States.

The Washington Football Team started the NFL season without a new name, and no replacement has been announced.

With the Redskins’ demise, critics turned their attention to a handful of other Indigenous-linked sports franchises that remained. That list included the MLB’s Atlanta Braves and Cleveland, as well as the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs and the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks.


The Braves organization ultimately refused to change its name but pledged to discourage the “tomahawk chop,” a fan cheer that has long been condemned as racist.

The Chiefs and Blackhawks acknowledged similar criticism last summer, then later vowed to keep their names while committing to various Indigenous education efforts.

The Blackhawks faced new questions about their logo last month, when the NHL revealed a line of throwback jerseys for each team. The Blackhawks design reused the Indigenous man’s head that has appeared in most of its branding for decades.

The Blackhawks were the only team whose new logo was not depicted in advertising for the jerseys. Instead, the jersey model is shown with his back turned in all photos on the NHL’s website, and the logo is largely obscured in a Twitter promo released by the team.

Most sports franchises derive their names from vicious animals, fierce natural forces, tough jobs or nicknames for local residents (e.g. “Yankees” or “Islanders”). Indigenous people are the only race to inspire team names in North America.


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## Jonah Hill poster (Dec 14, 2020)

Spoiler



I tried to find the Simpsons episode where they made fun of a documentary where they showed a Native American that looked like the Cleveland Indians mascot, but it’s nowhere to be found. Either way, this is pointless.


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## MrTroll (Dec 14, 2020)

> Most sports franchises derive their names from vicious animals, fierce natural forces, tough jobs or nicknames for local residents (e.g. “Yankees” or “Islanders”). Indigenous people are the only race to inspire team names in North America.



You mean the Cleveland Browns aren't named after brown people? wtf.


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## Cliff Booth (Dec 14, 2020)

At least they're not going to be Cleveland Baseball Team for any period of time.


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## McAfee'sCorpse (Dec 14, 2020)

Everybody is getting too soft and everyones worried about offending people. Indian isn't even a racist term, am i gonna have to start calling them Native Americans? fucking leftists.


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## Milkis (Dec 14, 2020)

Cleveland Chugs


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## NOT Sword Fighter Super (Dec 14, 2020)

Didn't this happen years ago?


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## Creep3r (Dec 14, 2020)

NOT Sword Fighter Super said:


> Didn't this happen years ago?


I think that was the Redskins football team.


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## Yuuichirou Kumada (Dec 14, 2020)

Can't wait for this trend to arrive here in Latin America. We've got plenty of teams with indigenous or black mascots that people are already considering racist. Nevermind some of these were adopted exactly as a counter-racist measure, what counts are the fee-fees of the fearless millenial generation.


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## kcbbq (Dec 14, 2020)

albert chan said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> I tried to find the Simpsons episode where they made fun of a documentary where they showed a Native American that looked like the Cleveland Indians mascot, but it’s nowhere to be found. Either way, this is pointless.


The actual crying Indian dude wasn't even an Indian. He was Italian.


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## R00T (Dec 14, 2020)

> Most sports franchises derive their names from vicious animals, fierce natural forces, tough jobs or nicknames for local residents (e.g. “Yankees” or “Islanders”). Indigenous people are the only race to inspire team names in North America.


The Minnesota Vikings, Boston Celtics, and countless college teams named Spartans would beg to differ.  
I hope they go with Tribe just so people kvetch about that instead.


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## Iron Hamster (Dec 14, 2020)

Ilhan Omar Comin' said:


> At least they're not going to be Cleveland Baseball Team for any period of time.


There would be a whole demographic they could appeal to in the BDSM crowd with the initials CBT.


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## whatever I feel like (Dec 14, 2020)

Ilhan Omar Comin' said:


> At least they're not going to be Cleveland Baseball Team for any period of time.


Well I for one think that all of Ohio could use a little CBT.

Fuck, I've been beaten, just like most of Ohio's penises.


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## XYZpdq (Dec 14, 2020)

The Cleveland Flaming Rivers


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## BIG BILL HELL'S (Dec 15, 2020)

The only way I will get behind this is if they end up going back to the name Spiders.


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## Quantum Diabetes (Dec 16, 2020)

I'm guessing they won't become the "Cleveland Rocks" and adopt a Drew Carey theme?


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## Super-Chevy454 (Dec 16, 2020)

Heyyy Bubba said:


> I'm guessing they won't become the "Cleveland Rocks" and adopt a Drew Carey theme?



Or the Cleveland Show as a nod to the ill-fated Family Guy spin-off.


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## Cedric_Eff (Dec 16, 2020)

Cleveland Shitholers


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## Muncie Anderson (Dec 16, 2020)

Heyyy Bubba said:


> I'm guessing they won't become the "Cleveland Rocks" and adopt a Drew Carey theme?



Or they could be called the Cleveland Right Prices or the Cleveland Whose Lines.

Rocks or Rockers, another popular suggestion, might be discouraged because it's too close to the name of the Colorado Rockies.  On the other hand, that didn't stop the CFL, who for many years, had two teams called the Rough Riders and the Roughriders.


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## GrammaNazi (Dec 16, 2020)

The Cleveland Steamers.


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## Super-Chevy454 (Dec 17, 2020)

The Cleveland Nostratics,  I thought of that term about a super-family language just to fuck and confuse the minds of SJWs or if we like to see their heads exploding, how about Cleveland Caucasians?


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## ToroidalBoat (Dec 17, 2020)

The Cleveland Clowns?


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## The Last Stand (Dec 17, 2020)

Redskins was pushing the "tolerance" of SJW political correctness; now this is just the final nail in the coffin.

Then watch when those same groups complain about "lack of representation."


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## Jonah Hill poster (Dec 17, 2020)

The Last Stand said:


> Redskins was pushing the "tolerance" of SJW political correctness; now this is just the final nail in the coffin.
> 
> Then watch when those same groups complain about "lack of representation."


Funny enough, “Washington Football Team” sounds like something the New Age NFL owners would do after unironically playing a game of Madden 21


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## ColtWalker1847 (Dec 17, 2020)

R00T said:


> The Minnesota Vikings, Boston Celtics, and countless college teams named Spartans would beg to differ.


The New York Knickerbockers and the Montreal Canadiens too.

I dare you to tell a French-Canadian to their face that they do not have a distinct cultural/racial identity and "Habs" just means someone that lives there.


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## Dom Cruise (Dec 17, 2020)

"Redskin" was pushing it, but Indian seems like a pretty neutral term to me. 

Native American simply makes the context clearer, but I don't think anyone should see "Indian" as an offensive term, dated maybe, but not offensive.


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## XYZpdq (Dec 18, 2020)

Chief Wahoo was a lot more of a caricature than, say, The Atlanta Brave


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## Rozzy (Dec 18, 2020)

The Cleveland Wokes.


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## Super-Chevy454 (Dec 18, 2020)

ToroidalBoat said:


> The Cleveland Clowns?



I don't think the clowns might enjoy having a team located in Cleveland named after them even if Cleveland is still not Detroit.


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## Shield Breaker (Dec 18, 2020)

Dom Cruise said:


> "Redskin" was pushing it, but Indian seems like a pretty neutral term to me.
> 
> Native American simply makes the context clearer, but I don't think anyone should see "Indian" as an offensive term, dated maybe, but not offensive.


We used to use it until recently. When I was in school, we called the program to help native kids who needed help the Indian Education Program. Although I never used it except for when I needed a pencil or something, I was required to take a special test to show how much they helped us.


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## Least Concern (Dec 18, 2020)

When is the state of Indiana going to change its name? I'm very offended.


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## Super-Chevy454 (Dec 24, 2020)

Least Concern said:


> When is the state of Indiana going to change its name? I'm very offended.



Speaking of Indiana, should Indiana Jones get a new name?


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## keyboredsm4shthe2nd (Dec 24, 2020)

Once again like the Redskins, the actual Natives have no problem with the name and it's actually carefully manufactured Hwhite Guilt (tm).


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## JudgementKazzy (Jan 4, 2021)

The Cleveland Mistakes
or
The Cleveland Non-Detroiters


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## JudgementKazzy (Jan 4, 2021)

ColtWalker1847 said:


> The New York Knickerbockers and the Montreal Canadiens too.
> 
> I dare you to tell a French-Canadian to their face that they do not have a distinct cultural/racial identity and "Habs" just means someone that lives there.


They're probably cancel the New York Knicks too because it almost sounds like a word that describes 80% of the NBA.


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## XYZpdq (Jan 4, 2021)

JudgementKazzy said:


> They're probably cancel the New York Knicks too because it almost sounds like a word that describes 80% of the NBA.


yeah iirc "knickerbocker" was one of those "it's a slur when we're away, but a term of endearment at home" as "yankee" is


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## ColtWalker1847 (Jan 4, 2021)

XYZpdq said:


> yeah iirc "knickerbocker" was one of those "it's a slur when we're away, but a term of endearment at home" as "yankee" is


It started out as a slur by the English basically making fun of the Dutch settlers because they wore stupid looking pants. But this stigma had largely gone away by the 1800s.


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## Jack Awful (Jan 4, 2021)

The Cleveland Featherheaded Savages.


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## XYZpdq (Jan 5, 2021)

Jack Awful said:


> The Cleveland Featherheaded Savages.


That's just referring to rocker hairstyles since it's the birthplace of Rock n Roll


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## Kornheiser (Jan 5, 2021)

Just go back to the Spiders. Baseball fans love tradition and going back to a name from 110 years ago would please them.


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## McAfee'sCorpse (Jan 6, 2021)

The Cleveland Browns Part 2.

At least Detroit aren't the Browns.


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## Ravana (Jan 6, 2021)

The Cleveland (...)-s


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## Super-Chevy454 (Jan 6, 2021)

How about Cleveland Fire as a nod to the Cuyahoga River who was on fire?


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## Woke Blue Muttlema (Jan 6, 2021)

The Cleveland Crackers


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## breadandcircuses (Jan 7, 2021)

Don't the Blackhawks license the name from a tribe like the Florida Seminoles?


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## Here Comes Mongo (Jan 12, 2021)

breadandcircuses said:


> Don't the Blackhawks license the name from a tribe like the Florida Seminoles?


Blackhawks were named after the Army division the founder of the franchise served under (86th Infantry Division, aka the Black Hawk Division), which itself was named after Chief Black Hawk, a Sauk leader.


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## OrionBalls (Jan 16, 2021)

I love Chief Wahoo, though. Shit. Not much for buying sports merch, because it's so damn expensive, but I'll have to get some before he disappears forever.

E-


DaftMob said:


> The Cleveland Browns Part 2.
> 
> At least Detroit aren't the Browns.


What about the Baltimore Ravens, now? They gave a ton of folks a team to root for that wasn't as awfully performing as the Redskins, nor so heartbreaking as the Eagles.

E2-


Super-Chevy454 said:


> Why I have an eerie feeling then we might see Chief Wahoo bootleg merchandise available on the black market?


We will, because he is just the happiest mascot that exists. Indian fans are something else. It's really wholesome to see.


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## Super-Chevy454 (Jan 16, 2021)

Orion Balls Deux said:


> I love Chief Wahoo, though. Shit. Not much for buying sports merch, because it's so damn expensive, but I'll have to get some before he disappears forever.


Why I have an eerie feeling then we might see Chief Wahoo bootleg merchandise available on the black market?


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## Preferred Penne (Jan 18, 2021)

Still gonna wear my Indians merch to games, if I ever get to go to one again.


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## Iron Hamster (Jan 18, 2021)

Preferred Penne said:


> Still gonna wear my Indians merch to games, if I ever get to go to one again.


Do you have a mask that's Wahoo's smile?


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