CLEVELAND (AP) – The spotlight for change is shining on the Cleveland Indians.
Now that the NFL Washington Redskins have withdrawn their controversial nickname and logo after decades of objection and amid a national movement calling for racial justice, the Indians appear to be the next major sports franchise that could take on a new identity.
Along with the Indians, who recently announced that they are in the early stages of evaluating a name change for the first time in 105 years, the Atlanta Braves, Chicago Blackhawks, and Kansas City Super Bowl bosses are among those facing a backlash along with the potential for sponsors to win your financial support.
For some, the time has come for widespread changes in sports nicknames, pets, and symbols as the country recognizes its legacy of racism.
“I understand that people are not willing to change or as fast, or hope that this moment will pass. It isn’t, “said activist Frances Danger, who is Muscogee (Creek) and Seminole from Oklahoma.” And now that we’ve got what we need on the Redskins side, we’re going to start working on the rest of them. We are not going to give in. ”
On Monday, Washington announced that it would drop a nickname that had been in effect since 1933 and had become an embarrassing scar for the NFL franchise. The team gave in to financial pressure from sponsors, including FedEx, the shipping giant and the owner of the teams’ stadium naming rights, as well as other groups.
Indians manager Terry Francona acknowledged having “mixed emotions” about the Redskins’ situation.
“I’m glad to see they are acting,” he said Monday night. “Also, I think it was probably financially driven. … You can’t always do things when the time is right, when it’s convenient. This is how I feel about it. I hope that our organization leads rather than continues. ”
While the debate over the Redskins’ nickname went on for years, the drastic change came just two weeks after owner Dan Snyder, who once said he would never change the team’s nickname, said the franchise will undergo a “thorough review” before your next move. .
Cleveland’s situation is different from Washington’s on several fronts.
First, Indians don’t feel the heat of any corporate sponsor. At least not publicly.
When the Redskins announced their review earlier this month, the Indians released a statement within a few hours of Washington saying: “We are committed to engaging our community and appropriate stakeholders to determine the best path forward regarding the name. from our team. “
The Indians did not promise to change their nickname. But it would be hard to imagine them going through detailed evaluation and deciding to stick with a nickname that Native American groups have condemned for years as degrading and racist.
Cleveland showed its willingness to rebrand when it removed the much-debated Chief Wahoo logo from in-game shirts and caps. While the toothy, red-faced cartoon remains a presence on some team merchandise, its reduced status and its removal of the diamond and signage around Progressive Field were applauded as a positive move.
Even if the Indians decide to drop the nickname, there are plenty of other layers (trademark contracts, new logos, Major League Baseball approval) to work with before the change can go into effect.
While the Indians seem open to a new identity, the Braves are not moving.
They have no plans to change their nickname, telling season ticket holders in a letter last week that “we will always be the Atlanta Braves.” However, the team said it will revise the team’s “tomahawk chop” singing, a tradition taken in the early 1990s from Florida’s powerful soccer program.
The Blackhawks also have no plans for change, and say their name honors a Native American leader, Black Hawk of the Sac & Fox Nation of Illinois. The NHL team said it plans to work harder to raise awareness of the Black Hawk and “the important contributions of all Native Americans.”
“We are trying to honor the logo and be respectful,” said general manager Stan Bowman. “There is certainly a fine line between respect and disrespect, and I think we want to do an even better job. I think the most important thing is to be clear that we want to help educate. … I think we have done a good job, but we want to do a better job. And I think we are committed to that as we go. “
Part of Atlanta’s insistence on keeping a nickname the franchise brought from Milwaukee in 1966 is due to the team’s “cultural working relationship” with the East Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina and other tribal leaders with whom it regularly collaborates. .
But as the teams seek to make changes, Danger and other activists will continue to pressure them to abandon any connection to Native Americans, who have been portrayed as pets for generations.
“They are walking us without saying anything about how they see us,” he said. “It’s a less bloody continuation of that, of us being a side show. It’s not difficult to choose the right side of the story, so I hope these teams take that step with us, side by side, as we all work together to change the world. “
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Associated Press writer Felicia Fonseca in Flagstaff, Arizona, and AP Sports writers Charles Odum in Atlanta and Jay Cohen in Chicago contributed to this report.
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