Indians removing Chief Wahoo logo from uniforms in 2019

john w

New member
Hall of Fame
CLEVELAND -- Divisive and hotly debated, the Chief Wahoo logo is being removed from the Indians' uniform next year.

The polarizing mascot is coming off the team's jersey sleeves and caps starting in the 2019 season, a move that will end Chief Wahoo's presence on the field but may not completely silence those who deem it racist.

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After the Cleveland Indians announced on Monday they were removing the Chief Wahoo logo from their uniforms in 2019, the Change the Mascot campaign called on the Washington Redskins to follow suit by doing away with their own "hurtful" nickname.

After lengthy discussions between team owner Paul Dolan and MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, the Indians are shelving the big-toothed, smiling, red-faced caricature, which has been used in used in various expressions by the team since 1947.

However, the American League team will continue to wear the Wahoo logo on its uniform sleeves and caps in 2018, and the club will still sell merchandise featuring the mascot in Northeast Ohio. The team must maintain a retail presence so that MLB and the Indians can keep ownership of the trademark.

"Major League Baseball is committed to building a culture of diversity and inclusion throughout the game," Manfred said in a statement. "Over the past year, we encouraged dialogue with the Indians organization about the club's use of the Chief Wahoo logo. During our constructive conversations, Paul Dolan made clear that there are fans who have a longstanding attachment to the logo and its place in the history of the team.

"We have consistently maintained that we are cognizant and sensitive to both sides of the discussion. While we recognize many of our fans have a long-standing attachment to Chief Wahoo, I'm ultimately in agreement with Commissioner Manfred's desire to remove the logo from our uniforms in 2019."


Indians owner Paul Dolan

"Nonetheless, the club ultimately agreed with my position that the logo is no longer appropriate for on-field use in Major League Baseball, and I appreciate Mr. Dolan's acknowledgement that removing it from the on-field uniform by the start of the 2019 season is the right course."

Under growing pressure to eliminate Chief Wahoo, the club has been transitioning away from the logo in recent years. The Indians introduced a block "C" insignia on some of their caps and have removed signs with the Wahoo logo in and around Progressive Field, the team's downtown ballpark.

National criticism and scrutiny about the Indians' allegiance to Chief Wahoo grew in 2016, when the Indians made the World Series and Manfred expressed his desire to have the team eradicate the symbol. Earlier in that postseason, a lawsuit was filed while the club was playing in Toronto to have the logo and team name banned from appearing on Canadian TV. That court case was dismissed by a judge.

The Indians' bid to host the 2019 All-Star Game, which it was ultimately awarded, further heightened debate over Wahoo.

"We have consistently maintained that we are cognizant and sensitive to both sides of the discussion," Dolan said. "While we recognize many of our fans have a long-standing attachment to Chief Wahoo, I'm ultimately in agreement with Commissioner Manfred's desire to remove the logo from our uniforms in 2019."


A fan holds up two Chief Wahoo heads during the 2016 World Series. LG Patterson/Getty Images
The fight over the mascot has spanned decades in Cleveland.

Every year, groups of Native Americans and their supporters have protested outside the stadium before the home opener in hopes of not only getting the team to abolish Chief Wahoo but to change the Indians' nickname, which they feel is an offensive depiction of their race.

Those dissenting voices have been met with fans devoted to preserving Chief Wahoo's place in team history. The Indians' resurgence in the mid-1990s helped spur a downtown renaissance in Cleveland.


"I'm elated,'' Philip Yenyo, executive director of the American Indian Movement of Ohio, said of the decision to stop using Wahoo on the uniforms. "But at the same time, I think it should be this year. I don't understand why they're drawing this out. It doesn't make any sense to me, unless they want to continue to make what's basically blood money.''

He added: "Just make the leap already.''

Yenyo and others have demanded that the team go further and drop "Indians'' from its name:

"If they don't get rid of the name, then you're still going to have fans going down there wearing headdresses and painted in redface.''

The Washington Redskins have come under similar fire to change their logo and nickname but so far have resisted. Last year, a Supreme Court ruling in another case cleared the way for the Redskins to preserve the trademark on its logo.
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What do you say, all you St. Louis Cardinal fans, who are Roman Catholic? The Cardinals should be forced to change their names,as this "Cardinal" name is hurtful, and offensive, to....

copertina.jpg



the Catholic elite, in their Cardinal red clown outfits!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


And I demand the New Orleans Saints change their name, as I find it quite offensive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



"sensitive" saint John W

PS: And all you children of the devil, should cry out in protest, to:



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john w

New member
Hall of Fame
And, given that Super Bowl XXXXXXXIVXXXIIIC(or whatever) is this weekend, and liberals are running(ruining)this country, I suspect that the term "Patriots" is quite offensive to them.
 

Greg Jennings

New member
I'm not in on the "get rid of redskins" bandwagon bc native Americans don't care about it. But chief wahoo is literally a racist caricature. I can understand the change
 

The Barbarian

BANNED
Banned
Years ago, I saw a comedy routine, a "sportscast" from a universe where the Indians had won.

The Milwaukee Polacks
Cleveland Kikes
Atlanta Crackers
New Orleans (can't be said here)

And so on. "It's O.K., these are names they call each other, so it's not racist."
 

jgarden

BANNED
Banned
Indians removing Chief Wahoo logo from uniforms in 2019

This falls into the Confederate flag and statues of Southern generals category!

If professional sports franchises can justify abandoning their fan base in one location while moving on to "greener pastures," changing a team name or logo so as not to offend a particular racial and/or ethnic group can hardly be considered an assault on American culture!
 
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