The Cleveland Indians are downplaying the Chief Wahoo logo after a resurgence in protests over the past few years, owner Paul Dolan told Cleveland.com.
The logo will now only be used on the sleeves of players’ jerseys, and it will be removed from all baseball caps affiliated with the team. The team is replacing the Chief Wahoo logo with a block letter “C.”
The cap with Chief Wahoo was the bestselling Cleveland Indians cap last season, according to Cleveland.com.
“We do have empathy for those who take issue with it,” Dolan told Cleveland.com. “We have minimized the use of it and we’ll continue to do what we think is appropriate.”
Looking at the team’s roster, very few people seem to have any connection to Native American heritage and therefore have little at stake when it comes to changing the logo.
Teams often do rebrand their franchise, though it’s usually limited to slightly changing a font or a color. In fact, Cleveland’s logo was simply the letter “C,” typical of early baseball teams, from 1915 to 1927. Native Americans hadn’t been incorporated in the team’s logo until 1928. The caricature of a Native American face was introduced in 1946 and was then revamped in 1951. This is a long-standing issue.
The Cleveland Indians’ logo has changed nine times before, but when the change is suddenly motivated by cultural sensitivity, it’s a big deal.
Naming teams after Native Americans reinforces the idea that they are a violent, warring people. Teams are usually named to be intimidating, and somehow, aggression has become associated with Native Americans.
Frankly, using racially insensitive logos and names for sports teams puts down an entire culture. It’s not enough that Americans destroyed said culture, but now they have to claim the names as their own in the name of sports.
The logical solution to protests over the team’s logo would have been reaching out to Native American groups to consult them about the next step in exploiting their culture.
The decision to gradually phase the current logo out is most likely a business one. Slowly letting go of Chief Wahoo gives fans the opportunity to stock up on the old merchandise while still buying merchandise with the new logo out of excitement.
A team like the Indians isn’t going to make as much money as the Boston Red Sox or the New York Yankees, but it still wants to make a profit. If money is the concern, changing the logo won’t impact the team’s revenue stream. Fans will still buy merchandise no matter what the team’s name or logo is. Milwaukee’s baseball team is named after beer brewers, Cincinnati’s is named after a color and San Diego’s is named after the Spanish word for “priests.” But those fans aren’t complaining.
The Cleveland Indians should take this as an opportunity to reboot their franchise. Cleveland isn’t the biggest sports city, and the Indians’ reputation is less than stellar. Rebranding the team with the introduction of a new logo could be an opportunity to ignite the city’s baseball fighting spirit in a productive way.
Over the past few years, people are more aware and actually care about what these logos are representing. The fervor seemed to start in 2014, with even “The Daily Show” getting in on the argument over another Native American-themed team that got heat for its name and logo.
Who knows, maybe Cleveland could get a cooler, less offensive mascot. There’s a lot of room for great logos in between the categories of “racist” and “lame.” Teams shouldn’t choose “Redskins,” but they aren’t by any means forced to choose the “Ionic Columns.”
But the team is still going to be called the Cleveland “Indians,” which is still a little confusing and definitely racist. There’s a way to embody the spirit of Cleveland and to still represent a sports team in a good way. And the best part is, teams don’t have to be offensive when they do it.
