Cleveland Indians To Change Name, Racists Are Big Mad About It

December 15, 2020, 6:57 am

A lot of United States history is marred by racism, and the whole country is still filled with things that pay homage to that — military bases named after Confederate leaders, statues celebrating well-known racists, and, of course, sports teams featuring names and mascots that still actively promote racism today.

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But after 105 years, at least one of those things is finally going to change. The Cleveland Indians — a Major League baseball team from Ohio for those who stay far away from sports — plans to phase out their name and logo and go by something else no later than 2022, according to The New York Times.

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“Hearing firsthand the stories and experiences of Native American people, we gained a deep understanding of how tribal communities feel about the team name and the detrimental effects it has on them,” team owner Paul Dolan said. “While Indians will always be a part of our history, it is time to move forward and work to unify our stakeholders and fans through a new name.

That name has yet to be chosen.

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The news comes just five months after the football team formerly known as the Washington Redskins was finally convinced to drop its own racist name, as advertisers began pulling support. Other major sports teams throughout the country still use names and mascots that belittle Native Americans, as do colleges, high schools, and even middle schools. But the usage rates have been dropping, and seeing prominent teams like Washington and Cleveland change their own names could encourage others to follow suit.

Of course, not everyone is happy with these changes, preferring to focus on the slight discomfort of change rather than considering the feelings and both modern and historical oppression of an entire group of people.

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The #ClevelandIndians hired Frank Robinson, @MLB‘s first black manager and hired Satchel Paige when he was in his 40’s. (Paige pitched brilliantly during the season and in the World Series.) But the name “Indians” is “RACIST”? What’s next? The state of “Indiana”? The “Indy” 500? https://t.co/4g2d05X8C2

— Larry Elder (@larryelder) December 15, 2020

The Cleveland Indians just lost half their fan base.

— Brigitte Gabriel (@ACTBrigitte) December 14, 2020

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Others were grateful for the change and tried to explain why it will be positive.

#ClevelandIndians changing names after a century might seem small. Like any other victory for common humanity over settler state formations, it wasn’t voluntary. It can and will portend more and deeper structural victories if we understand that enough people can change anything.

— Greg Carr (@AfricanaCarr) December 14, 2020

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Go read the replies on any article about the Cleveland Indians changing their racist team name to learn a lot about why it’s important to change racist team names.

— Donovan Woods (@DonovanWoods) December 14, 2020

But regardless of what people on Twitter — or even the President of the United States — think, the name is changing. The only question is which team will be next in line to make the change.

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*First Published: December 15, 2020, 6:57 am