By: Rhea Agrawal
The Cleveland Indians, a professional baseball team from Cleveland, Ohio, might undergo a name change because its nickname is considered racist and demeaning to Native Americans. The team’s manager, Terry Francona, supports the idea and believes that changing the name will be beneficial.
The decision to go through a detailed evaluation came after the Washington Redskins, an NFL team, said that they would make changes to their name and logo. The Redskins were pressured by their sponsors, including FedEx, to change their name as it has been considered offensive for decades. Although the Indians had not been told by their sponsors to change their name, people have become more aware of racially insensitive brand names in light of the Black Lives Matter Movement (BLM), an organization fighting against anti-Black racism.
Team manager Terry Francona agrees with the idea of a name change for the team. “I think it’s time to move forward,” Francona said Sunday, two days after the Indians announced that they were “committed to engaging our community and appropriate stakeholders to determine the best path forward with regard to our team name.”
“Even at my age, you don’t want to be too old to learn or to realize that, maybe I’ve been ignorant of some things, and to be ashamed of it, and to try to be better,” said Francona, who also led the Boston Red Sox to win two World Series Titles. He also explains, “I’m glad that we’re going to be open to listening, because I think that’s probably the most important thing right now, is being willing to listen, not necessarily just talk.
In the past years, the team has tried to make some changes such as removing the Chief Wahoo logo from game jerseys and caps, but it might be time to change the name altogether that has been there since 1915.
Across the nation, things from sports teams to food brands are being called out for their history of racism, and everyone is working together towards a better country, a country that has come to terms with its legacy of racism.
Source: https://time.com/5863053/cleveland-indians-name-change/