DeSantis-Hating Sports Writer Tries To Ruin Baseball With Identity Politics
People from all walks of life, regardless of their race, sex, or religion, just want to support their favorite sports teams.People from all walks of life, regardless of their race, sex, or religion, just want to support their favorite sports teams.
Cleveland Indians to become Cleveland Guardians after racism outcries — but one outspoken former major leaguer blasts name change as 'lack of balls'
The Cleveland Indians will become the Cleveland Guardians at the end of the 2021 season after years of outcry that the major league baseball team's moniker — in place for over a century — is racist against Native Americans, the Associated Press reported.
What are the details?
The team announced the name change Friday with a video on Twitter narrated by actor Tom Hanks, the AP said:
Together, we are all... https://t.co/R5FnT4kv1I
— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) 1627047311.0
The outlet said the name change came after months of internal discussions "triggered by a national reckoning by institutions and teams to permanently drop logos and names considered racist."
'Lack of balls'
The AP added that the choice of Guardians "will undoubtedly be criticized by many of the club's die-hard fans."
Ya think?
One former major league player — the outspoken and decidedly non-left wing Aubrey Huff — on Friday derided the switch from Indians to Guardians:
I’m so sick of watching everyone cave to this crybaby generation. So disgraceful @Indians. This isn’t woke….it’s a… https://t.co/FW3fbbaxXk
— Aubrey Huff (@aubrey_huff) 1627051367.0
"I'm so sick of watching everyone cave to this crybaby generation," Huff wrote on Twitter. "So disgraceful @Indians. This isn't woke….it's a lack of balls. No fight in anyone anymore! Sad."
Huff wasn't alone in his criticism.
Rich Lowry, editor of the National Review, tweeted, "And just like that, the Indians adopt the dumbest, most pointless name in major professional sports."
And just like that, the Indians adopt the dumbest, most pointless name in major professional sports https://t.co/r3W5UycoNV
— Rich Lowry (@RichLowry) 1627050586.0
Sports outlet Outkick tweeted that "Cleveland's awful new baseball nickname and logo, and the video introducing it all, are so comical they're almost offensive."
Cleveland's awful new baseball nickname and logo, and the video introducing it all, are so comical they're almost… https://t.co/pOJ5mEJ27l
— OutKick (@Outkick) 1627050920.0
Popular online pundit Comfortably Smug pulled no punches, either: "Cleveland Guardians is a garbage name for a garbage team from a garbage town."
Cleveland Guardians is a garbage name for a garbage team from a garbage town
— Comfortably Smug (@ComfortablySmug) 1627049739.0
There also were no shortage of commenters very much in favor of the switch:
#ClevelandGuardians changed their name, and I couldn’t be happier!! https://t.co/dxt37aR8FI
— Tsalagi Supports President Biden 💪🏼🌊 😷✊🏼 (@renee122169) 1627051134.0
What's the background?
Team owner Paul Dolan said last summer's social unrest, sparked by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, spurred his intention to change the name, the AP reported.
More from the outlet:
Dolan is expected to provide more details on the choice and background on the change at a news conference at Progressive Field before the Indians host the Tampa Bay Rays.
In 2018, the Indians stopped wearing the contentious Chief Wahoo logo on their jerseys and caps. However, the team continues to sell merchandise bearing the smiling, red-faced caricature that was protested for decades by Native American groups.
The name change has sparked lively debate among the city's passionate sports fans. Other names, including the Spiders, which is what the team was once called, were pushed by supporters on social media platforms.
But Guardians does seem to fit the team's objective to find a name that embodies Cleveland's ethos while preserving the team's history and uniting the community.
The AP noted that large landmark stone edifices — called "guardians" — can be seen on the Hope Memorial Bridge over the Cuyahoga River, which is not far from the team's downtown ballpark.
One Twitter user posted photos of "The Guardians of Traffic" (which he originally called "The Guardians of Transportation" but corrected in a subsequent tweet), and noted that the new team name is "more authentically Cleveland than most jokesters on this website understand."
Cleveland Indians ban Native American headdresses, face paint at home games
Moving forward, the Cleveland Indians will prohibit fans from wearing Native American-style headdresses and face paint while in attendance at home games. The Major League Baseball club announced the new ballpark policy on Wednesday ahead of the team's home opener against the Detroit Tigers.
Under the new guidelines, fans could be denied entrance or face ejection if they conduct themselves in a "disorderly, unruly, or disruptive" way or should they choose to wear "inappropriate dress." According to the policy, inappropriate dress "includes headdresses and face paint styled in a way that references or appropriates American Indian cultures and traditions."
"Inappropriate or offensive images, words, dress or face paint must be covered or removed, and failure to do so may constitute grounds for ejection or refusal of admission," the policy continued.
The changes were made as pressure ramps up across the country for organizations to remove all potentially racially insensitive content and messaging from public view.
.@Indians fans: what to expect when you return to Progressive Field this year ⬇️ https://t.co/k6hrGIGzzn— Jensen Lewis (@Jensen Lewis)1617214676.0
Curtis Danburg, vice president of communications and community impact for the Indians, told Cleveland.com that the dress policy does not extend to the appearance of Chief Wahoo logo on attire. He added that face paint broadcasting other messages are fine, too.
Chief Wahoo — a caricature of a big-toothed, smiling, red-faced Indian chief — is the club's former logo, which the team moved away from following the 2018 season after it drew scrutiny from some who called it racist and offensive.
Since the logo's removal was so recent, it would be difficult to ban fans from displaying it. The logo appears on nearly all jerseys or other team memorabilia purchased before 2019.
The new dress policy follows the club's announcement last year that it will change names sometime before the start of the 2022 season. The club has heralded the "Indians" name for more than a century.
Cleveland's decision follows similar ones made by teams in other professional sports leagues with Native American monikers.
Last summer, the Washington Football Team, formerly the Washington Redskins, decided to change the name of its franchise following public pressure. Also last summer, the Kansas City Chiefs announced new stadium policies to prevent fans from wearing Native American costumes and face paint, and also banned the use of the popular "Arrowhead Chop."
Report: Cleveland Indians will change their name over concerns team name is racist
The Cleveland Indians, the Major League Baseball franchise that has held the "Indians" name for more than a century, will reportedly change their team name.
The development comes as several major league franchises across different sports have dropped their Native American names over leftist claims that such monikers are racist. The Washington Redskins were the latest team to drop their Native America name — and the team still has not announced a replacement — despite the vast majority of Native Americans saying they did not consider the name to be racist.
According to the New York Times, the Cleveland Indians' announcement about their name change could happen as soon as this week.
ESPN confirmed the franchise has chosen to change its name.
However, it's not yet clear what the baseball team will be rebranded as, nor is it clear when the rebranding process will begin. The logistical hurdle for rebranding an organization as large as a major sports team is significant, because the team will have to coordinate with manufacturers that produce everything from team uniforms to team-branded merchandise and even the manufacturer responsible for massive "Indians" signs that adorns the team's field.
Team sources told the Times the rebranding may not officially happen until the conclusion of the 2021 season, with hopes of debuting the new team name prior to the 2022 season.
The team's decision to change its name is not exactly surprising.
Prior to the 2018 season, the team announced it would remove its controversial mascot, "Chief Wahoo," which critics said was a racist depiction of Native Americans.
"[T]he logo is no longer appropriate for on-field use in Major League Baseball," MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said at the time, the Associated Press reported.
Then, just days before the Washington Redskins announced in July they would change their name following long-standing pressure from team sponsors, the Cleveland Indians said they were also reviewing their team name.
What was the reaction?
Oneida Nation of New York, which led a movement to change Native American team mascots it deemed racist, praised the move.
"This is the culmination of decades of work," the group told ESPN.
"Groups like the National Congress of American Indians passed resolutions for decades on this, social science has made clear these names are harmful and Cleveland got out in front of it and they're leading, and rather than having this hanging over their heads, they're charting a new path," they added.
Are other teams following suit?
Other major league sports teams with Native American names — including the Kansas City Chiefs, Atlanta Braves, and Chicago Blackhawks — have said recently they do not plan to change their names, the Times reported.
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