Cleveland (AP) – Cleveland Indians are changing their name – they don’t know what or when.
“It’s time,” said owner Paul Doll. Has been known since 1915.
In an exclusive interview with the Associated Press on Monday, Doll said: “This name is no longer acceptable in our world.”
Doll said the team will be called Indian until a new name is chosen. That “multi-stage” process is in its infancy and the Indian team will play at least during next season – and it will be branded.
“We will become Indians in 2021 and after that, identifying a new name and doing everything you can to activate that name is a difficult and complicated process,” Dolne said. “We will work as fast as we can.
“But we will not do anything just to do that. We will take the necessary time to do it right. “
Dolan said the team will not take an interim name until they choose their new one.
“We don’t want to be a Cleveland baseball team or any other interim name,” he said. “We will remain Indian until we know the next name, which will hopefully take us many centuries.”
Cleveland’s move was made earlier this year by the NFL’s Washington football team, formerly known as the Redskins.
“It was a learning process for me and I believe that when fair, open-minded people really see it, think about it and maybe spend some time studying it, I think they will come to the same conclusion: this is a name. Whose time was, but this time is not now, and the name of moving forward for sure is no longer acceptable in our world, ”Dola said.
As Cleveland considers new names, Dolne said the team’s popular nickname, Tribe, has been rejected for decades.
“We will not go half a step away from the Indians,” Dolane said, adding that the tribe was the initial choice. “The new name, and I don’t know what it is, wouldn’t be a name that has or means Native American themes.”
The recent change of name by the Indian people by an organization responding to the national movement, which led to the removal of the names and symbols of the citizens of the East, sparked widespread protests over the summer civil rights.
Throughout the South, Civil War monuments were taken down, and in some cases the names of buildings were taken.
Dollan said his “awakening or epiphany” came after the death of George Floyd, who died this summer when he was arrested by white Minneapolis police officers.
Cleveland’s announcement was praised by NFL coach Ron Rivera, who said his views on the issue had changed after reading the novel “The Real All-American” about the Native American football team.
Rivera said he has received annoying letters from Washington Washington fans, who are upset with the name change.
“But I’ve also gotten some notes from Native Americans who have said thank you for doing it and respecting our wishes,” Rivera said. “One thing I hope we don’t forget. We do not ignore them. We start paying attention to their plight and do the right thing through them. They are Americans who deserve our respect. “
Dola expects there to be a dissenting reaction to the Indian decision which disagrees with the team’s decision.
He said, ‘I consider myself a fifth-generation Clevelander. “It is in our blood and baseball and is synonymous with India, and it goes against the whole objective against the effect. No one intended anything negative from our association with the name of India, but the effect has been drastic. ”
Shilling was named in July after he succumbed to pressure from corporate sponsors.
Hours later, Doll announced a full review of the team’s name. He promised to listen and learn, and the same happened in recent months during discussions with fans, businessmen, athletes, social workers, and researchers focusing on Native American culture and issues.
Doll called those conversations “both cognitive and challenging.”
He added that there is a delicate balance between moving forward and looking back.
“We will respect our past,” he said. “We are not moving away from our past. The year we finally change will be the Cleveland Indian of 1915. We will always celebrate that. I don’t think we have to ignore it.
“But from the day we change, the new history we create together as a community with our team will be under a different name banner.”
Cleveland’s name change awaits the team in 2019 to remove the controversial Chief Vahu logo from its caps and jerseys.
The team has never stopped selling merchandise with a stern, cartoonish figure, but Dolane said profits from future sales of Wahu’s items will go to Native American organizations or support Native Americans.
Dolan’s family bought the Indians in 2000, and even then he knew Chief Vahu was “problematic.” It was only after this summer’s turmoil and after educating himself on Native American issues that he recognized Indians in the same light.
“It simply came to our notice then. It is the end of an era or the beginning of an era. But with that comes the belief and perhaps even the excitement that we are going to do something that is better. It will be better for the community. It will be better for our team. And it will be something to hope for that will unite everyone. It’s not like we feel any kind of reluctance to express, ”he said.
“It will take a while for everyone to hug, but I think when they do, we’ll all be good for it.”
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AP Sports Writer Howard Fendrich contributed to this report.
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