Chief Wahoo is on his way out. The grinning, red-tinged Cleveland Indians mascot will no longer appear on the team’s uniform.
“Major League Baseball is committed to building a culture of diversity and inclusion throughout the game,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement.
People have had a problem with Cleveland’s MLB team for a long time. Critics argue that the team name and mascot are offensive to Native Americans, while defenders cling to the nostalgia wrapped up in the team’s history.
“Over the past year,” Manfred added, “we encouraged dialogue with the Indians organization about the club’s use of the Chief Wahoo logo. During our constructive conversations, (team owner) Paul Dolan made clear that there are fans who have a longstanding attachment to the logo and its place in the history of the team.”
They reached a compromise. The mascot’s image won’t be purged from the team’s uniforms until the 2019 season. Stores will still be allowed to sell Chief Wahoo-branded merchandise.
“Nonetheless, the club ultimately agreed with my position that the logo is no longer appropriate for on-field use in Major League Baseball, and I appreciate Mr. Dolan’s acknowledgment that removing it from the on-field uniform by the start of the 2019 season is the right course,” commissioner Manfred said.
It’s remarkable that Chief Wahoo managed to survive until 2018. Our culture has gone through radical changes in the last decade, race-based humor is no longer socially acceptable. The Indians’ mascot may have seemed quaint at one point in time, but most Millennials think it’s offensive.
“We have consistently maintained that we are cognizant and sensitive to both sides of the discussion,” team owner Dolan said.
“While we recognize many of our fans have a long-standing attachment to Chief Wahoo, I’m ultimately in agreement with Commissioner Manfred’s desire to remove the logo from our uniforms in 2019.”
(Source: ABC News)