CLEVELAND, Ohio – Baseball fans are known for holding tight to their opinions when debating the greatest players from bygone eras, or who deserves an MVP award, All-Star selection, or even election to the Hall of Fame. But Cleveland’s baseball club entered uncharted waters last week with the announcement it would drop the “Indians” nickname after the 2021 season.
The move raises the stakes on baseball discourse here. Now the conversation not only includes home runs and strikeouts, but also a city’s very identity, history and traditions as viewed through a lens of an organization’s desire to advance causes such as social justice and inclusion.
After last week’s announcement, cleveland.com commissioned MV Digital Group to conduct an informal survey asking readers to share their feelings on whether or not the team should change its name.
About 55% of those who responded to the question felt the team name should remain “Indians.” Of those who responded, 33% favored the name change and a little more than 11% were indifferent.
The question: Cleveland’s MLB team recently announced they intend to drop the “Indians” nickname after the upcoming season. What are your thoughts on the announcement? Is this a change for better or for worse?
Below is a sample of what our readers had to say along with the screen names they submitted to the forum.
Opposed to the name change
Many of those who responded negatively see the move as a win for “political correctness gone wild” and took the opportunity to decry “cancel culture” in society.
Ted: Absolutely absurd! This name is in honor of something or someone, not disrespecting anything or anyone. Political correctness has gone way too far!
Button: No, I don’t think history should be changed. It is an honor to have a team named after you or your group, and I don’t understand why the indigenous people don’t see it that way. I have tried to understand their point of view, but I am struggling to see the sense in it. The name “Indians” was never used in any derogatory way.
Renee: I hate to see the name changed. It has been a part of Cleveland sports for years. We have a new generation that is offended by everything and it needs to stop.
Other readers argued that the Indians name is rooted in Cleveland’s baseball history as a tribute to the first Native American major league player
KevRohr1: I do not think the name needs to be changed. If you look at the history, The Indians were named after the first Indian baseball player, which is an honor and a compliment in my opinion, not an insult.
ccbmom: As a life-long Cleveland Indians fan who lives in northeast Ohio, I don’t believe they should change the name. Team management chose that name a long time ago to honor a revered team member from its earliest team, the Spiders. Louis Sockalexis was a trailblazer and years later, team management chose “Indians” as their team name. No matter what happens, we will ALWAYS be Cleveland Indians fans. Northeast Ohio sticks together! GO TRIBE!
An overwhelmingly popular opinion among readers was that they understand dropping the controversial Chief Wahoo logo, but that the “Indians” name should stay.
Tony L: There is nothing inherently racist in the name Cleveland Indians. I will concede “Chief Wahoo”. Especially the earliest renditions. However, the nickname “Tribe” is an historically justifiable candidate. Sportswriters have used it for years. So, let’s rally around The Cleveland Tribe.
Nicole A: I absolutely see how Wahoo is offensive and I understand the need to change that. But, the Indians name should stay. It was out of honor for the Native American Chief who played for the Spiders. Understand history and honor it. This whole world needs to stop being offended by everything.
Commentariat: Okay, Chief Wahoo could be seen as derogatory; the Indians nickname, not so much. The ball club should keep the nickname but permanently consign Chief Wahoo to the ash heap of history. It’s a reasonable compromise.
Cleveland’s long history of going by “Indians” since 1915 is another position readers who oppose the name change have taken up. The approach here seems to be: “It’s always been this way, so why change it now?”
marki: I do not think they should change the name. They have had it for years.
Readers have also taken the position that franchises with other race-based sports nicknames, including those in Kansas City, Chicago and Atlanta, have stood their ground in the face of growing calls for change. In some cases, the clubs have worked with local Indigenous groups to form partnerships and keep their nicknames in place.
KenstonBomber: I didn’t even like when they dropped the Chief Wahoo logo but at least understood why. The Indians nickname is no more or less controversial than Chiefs, Blackhawks or Braves and no one was pressuring those franchises to drop their nicknames. MLB bullied the Indians’ weak team owner into doing this. This is going to cost the team a good portion of its over-40 ticket buying fan base who will never come back now. And they are the true remaining fan base in a sport that is continually losing interest with younger sports fans.
dodgeramgirl35: There is a time and place to change names, but with the Cleveland Indians it’s different. The name comes from paying homage to a great Native American baseball player. There are ways to clean it up if people feel it has become is disrespectful. They have already removed Chief Wahoo logos and images from the brand. Not that it makes it OK, but there are other team names that are way more offensive than this ... again the name is in tribute. In addition, if it’s offensive because “Indians” are a group of people, a culture, and not a mascot, what about Vikings? That is the name of another culture and no one is requesting they change their name.
In favor of the name change
Readers who back the decision to drop the “Indians” nickname say they have waited and hoped for a long time that the team would come around and see things from their perspective.
fooledbyasmile: It’s time, and I’m OK with it. But we need to choose a new name that reflects who we are as a city. Not the “Rockers” or anything related to a guitar. The comments about “political correctness going too far” or “bowing to social pressure” are ridiculous. Having done something for 100 years is not a reason to continue doing it. The team could be called just about anything, and it’s just a baseball team. Let’s name it something we are all OK with.
Merriweather: Long overdue. A fan base that is primarily white should move on from team names and mascots that present warped caricatures of minority groups. The Boomers will be upset, but they don’t get to dictate everything I think they should go retro and take up the Spiders name.
ssp: The name is deeply offensive and should have been changed years ago.
aimeeu2: I am ecstatic. I have been wanting them to change the name for years. I had a professor in college who was Native American and who chastised me and my classmates for wearing shirts with the former offensive logo. That was over twenty years ago, and over the years I began to understand just how wrong the logo and team name were.
Talk of Cleveland: Yes, the name should be changed. It is long overdue. The world will be a better place when we arrive at a place where we consider how our actions and words impact the community at large.
clegirl216: As a Clevelander, I’m glad that they are finally coming around to dropping the name completely, including “Tribe.” These have been the demands of our Native community in Northeast Ohio for YEARS now. I am glad that the voices of Cleveland’s Indigenous Coalition were finally heard! We can move on from this and make the franchise stronger and more inclusive.
Cleveland’s decision coincides with the Washington Football Team dropping its former “Redskins” name on the heels of a national reckoning on systemic racism and social justice after George Floyd’s death. Calls for change came from local groups as well as players within the organization, and those sentiments were reflected by readers who support dropping the “Indians” name.
Chris: It’s about time! If we are serious about addressing systemic racism this had to happen. Acceptance requires having empathy for other races, their experiences, their needs and differences. I want inclusion and think these sorts of changes are an important step.
MLBees: Yes, it should be changed. I know that many people don’t see the racism behind the name or don’t want change because “it’s always been that way.” But stepping back and looking at it objectively, Chief Wahoo and the Indians nickname are marginalizing an entire ethnicity. Why not change it to grow and improve with these realizations? As long as they stay in Cleveland, the mascot and nickname are pretty insignificant.
MsSybil: Yes, it’s time. Racism and prejudice take many forms, some seemingly innocuous like the name Indians and the logo of Chief Wahoo. To many, the term Indians may not be offensive, but it is offensive to Native Americans. And no matter how you try to explain it away, Chief Wahoo is racist. The white man’s treatment of the indigenous people -- Native Americans -- of this land, those we incorrectly call Indians, has been disgraceful. The Cleveland ballclub has had many names over its history -- the Spiders, the Naps, etc. Changing the current name is not unheard of. Cleveland has a varied history and Northeast Ohio has many landmarks and features. It shouldn’t be that hard to pick a new name.
writingshop: Yes, they should change the name. It is amazing to me how the people who complain about not changing the name are ones who do not have to deal with derogatory names towards their culture.
Mtl33: I don’t like it, but it should be changed. It’s disrespectful to an entire population of people who were not treated well in our nation’s history.
One of the problems with a race-based nickname pointed out by some readers is that if you do not have 100% support of that particular race, you’re bound to have problems. In Cleveland’s case, they never did have that complete support.
Ignatius68: If native Americans do not think the name is respectful, then the name should be changed. Cleveland has been a leader in breaking barriers with the signing of Larry Doby and the hiring of Frank Robinson as manager. We should continue that tradition. We all really love baseball, not the team name. Let’s focus on finding a way to sustain the excellence over the past 20+ years... Cleveland needs to win a World Series championship and no one will care about the name.
Mrchill2u: It’s the people that don’t want to see the positivity of change that have the problem. Oppression and Systemic Racism has/have many different forms and they are afflicted on people of color. Certain people have grown comfortable with this because it’s not them. So, they are quick to ask “What’s the harm in a name?” The name is a Vicious Verbal Mockery of a people, this is the problem with the name... IGNORANCE is the lack of knowledge/the inability to know something. Now you know something! There was always a problem with the name.
Other points of view
Not every reader sees the name change controversy as simply black or white. The survey revealed several layers to the issue. Below are a few takeouts from readers whose opinions on the matter didn’t exactly fall on the “Yes” or “No” side of the ledger.
A CHANCE TO START OVER
Doomcrawler: I personally don’t care one way or another - but it’s the chance to come up with something cooler & tougher than “Indians.” Again, getting worked up over a sports team is super low priority considering what’s going on at the moment.
CONSUMER CRISIS
Nori: I think that it is odd to change the name of the Indians but still continue to sell the merchandise branded “Indians.” There are many things going on in this world that are probably a priority over this name change when they are going to continue to sell the “Indian” branded merchandise anyway.
CLOTHING CONUNDRUNM
jpm29803: This is totally ridiculous. I have dozens of pieces of Indians clothing. Am I supposed to quit wearing it now? You can bet I’ll never buy another piece of fan apparel after this.
NAME CHANGE IS NOT ENOUGH
ErieGirl129: I’d rather see efforts made for real change in discrimination. To me, this is just a pandering name change like, “There. We did it. Now are you satisfied?” It does nothing to change racial discrimination and destroys an historical legacy 100 years in the making.
RE-BRAND WILL BE HARD, BUT RIGHT THING TO DO
LAA53: I feel that it will be difficult for the team to rebrand. However, the success of the new brand will be dependent on the new name they chose. Because the world has changed so much, it would be good for the team to reflect that they are responsive to removing issues that are offensive.
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New Indians face masks for sale: Here’s where you can buy Cleveland Indians-themed face coverings for coronavirus protection, including a single mask ($14.99) and a 3-pack ($24.99). All MLB proceeds donated to charity.
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