Why did Cleveland change baseball team name? Origins of decades-long controversy
Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Sunday, July 20 there is "a big clamoring" for the Guardians to change the team's name back to "Indians," and also for the NFL's Washington Commanders to change back to the "Redskins." He requested the teams' owners "get it done."
"Our great Indian people, in massive numbers, want this to happen. Their heritage and prestige is systematically being taken away from them. Times are different now than they were three or four years ago. We are a Country of passion and common sense. OWNERS, GET IT DONE!!!"
Here's a breakdown of how the Guardians elected to change their name beginning with the 2022 MLB season and what led to the decision:
Cleveland MLB name origin, response
Cleveland's MLB franchise officially changed its name to Guardians in November 2021 after decades of criticism from Native American groups and other activists who viewed the team's former name and mascot to be culturally insensitive. There were also protests regarding the name outside Cleveland's stadium, Progressive Field, before several home openers until the franchise elected to rename the team. Guardians is in reference to the Guardians of Traffic statues on the city's Hope Memorial Bridge near Progressive Field.
The franchise had been under its previous name since 1915, although the original implementation is a bit murky. There are records indicating baseball writers at the time voted on the team name but that it was not intended to remain the name long-term, according to MLB.com.
The team removed its cartoon "Chief Wahoo" mascot and logo from game jerseys before the 2019 MLB season, but retained the trademark and continued to sell merchandise with the logo. Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti met with reporters Sunday morning after Trump's post became public and said he was unaware of Trump's comments. The 2022 MLB season was the franchise's first using the Guardians moniker.
"Not something I'm tracking or have been paying a lot of attention to, but I would say generally I understand that there are very different perspectives on the decision we made a few years ago," Antonetti said, according to the Akron Beacon Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network. "But obviously it's a decision we've made and we've gotten the opportunity to build the brand as the Guardians over the last four years and are excited about the future."
Trump, who had a failed attempt to buy Cleveland's MLB franchise back in 1983, criticized the team's decision to change names before it had officially done so. He declared in a December 2020 tweet, "This is not good news, even for 'Indians.' Cancel culture at work!"
Trump also criticized the team's name at a political rally in Ohio last year while he was campaigning on behalf of Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno in a Republican primary against Matt Dolan, whose father owns the Guardians. Trump said the franchise's ownership had been "easily pushed around by the woke left-wing lunatics," according to Politico.
Why did Cleveland Guardians change their name?
Team owner Paul Dolan confirmed upon announcing the decision to change the team's name in 2021 that his stance on the matter changed in the aftermath of the social unrest and national reckoning over race and police brutality that emerged following the controversial death of George Floyd.
The move to change the team name emerged after a survey of 40,000 fans and 140 hours of interviews with fans, community leaders and front office personnel. It occurred shortly after the Washington NFL team also elected to change its name.
"The biggest change was what's happened this year, starting with George Floyd's death and the recognition that our world has changed," Paul Dolan said in 2021, according to MLB.com. "For me, that raised the question of whether we should continue using a name like Indians in this new world and what lies ahead for us. That wasn't the decision, it was merely the decision to answer the question. We went to answer the question by talking to a wide array of local and national groups. We spoke to our whole community, in one way or another. I think the answer was pretty clear that, while so many of us who have grown up with the name and thought of it as nothing more than the name of our team and that it did not intend to have a negative impact on anybody, in particular Native Americans, it was having a negative impact on those folks."
"Our role is to unite the community," Dolan added. "There is a credible number of people in this community who are upset by our name, are hurt by our name, and there is no reason for our franchise to bear a name that is divisive."
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