Indians removing Chief Wahoo logo from game uniforms in 2019
Last edited Mon Jan 29, 2018, 02:15 PM - Edit history (1)
Source: Associated Press
Indians removing Chief Wahoo logo from game uniforms in 2019
By TOM WITHERS
26 minutes ago
CLEVELAND (AP) Divisive and hotly debated, the Chief Wahoo logo is being removed from the Cleveland Indians uniform next year.
The polarizing mascot is coming off the teams jersey sleeves and caps starting in the 2019 season, a move that will end Chief Wahoos presence on the field but may not completely silence those who deem it racist.
The Associated Press was informed of the decision before an official announcement was planned for Monday by Major League Baseball.
After lengthy discussions between team owner Paul Dolan and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, the Indians are taking the extraordinary step of shelving the big-toothed, smiling, red-faced caricature, which has been used in used in various expressions by the team since 1947.
Read more: https://www.apnews.com/6a6477f583ee4b95a230ae031f31c1aa/APNewsBreak:-Indians-removing-Chief-Wahoo-logo-from-uniforms
Edited, 1:11 p.m., as AP now has a news story and not just a tweet about this.
What the original OP said:
Title: BREAKING: Cleveland Indians removing Chief Wahoo logo from game jerseys and caps, starting in 2019 s
Link:
Link to tweet
Source: Associated Press Sports
BREAKING: Cleveland Indians removing Chief Wahoo logo from game jerseys and caps, starting in 2019 season
Link to tweet
- - - -
That was all there was.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,836 posts)mahatmakanejeeves
(57,600 posts)I thought it would be in place forever.
It is really is over the top.
notKeith
(139 posts)Both the current and earlier versions are obnoxious.
Tell you what - since the population of Cleveland is 52% African American (as compared to 40% Caucasian), wouldn't it be more appropriate, oh, I dunno, to change their logo altogether to some obnoxious picture of a black person?
I can't imagine what the team name from "Cleveland Indians" would change too.. have to think about that.
Let's see how THAT flies..
[link:|
helmedon1974
(92 posts)Like an arrow Head, or an eagle feather. Something that represents the name rather than demean it with a stereotype.
eggplant
(3,913 posts)(seems unlikely)
jmowreader
(50,562 posts)The Spokane Indians is a Short Season A team. When the big push to rename teams with Native names was happening, the Spokane Tribe decided they liked the name and bought the team. Their mascots are two monsters, a superhero named Recycle Man (the park they play in belongs to the power company) and a person in a fish suit.
How about a sun with a warrior crouched down in a thoughtful pose in front of it?
titaniumsalute
(4,742 posts)LiberalLovinLug
(14,176 posts)colourful, and a native image that is not cartoony, just friendly.
procon
(15,805 posts)Hastening to add the obligatory cautionary explanation:
Odoreida
(1,549 posts)But if you remove the feather and bright red hue from the current Wahoo it could be rebranded as a tribute to Bob Feller.
Ilsa
(61,698 posts)Fred Sanders
(23,946 posts)On the other hand Foxxx fans will be on the proper boiling temperature for a year.
HopeAgain
(4,407 posts)Correctness can't interfere with capitalism, after all.
niyad
(113,552 posts)PJMcK
(22,048 posts)We should be praising the Cleveland Indians for making a smart and socially responsible decision.
Changing their logo will be a massive undertaking. It's not just the jerseys and the ball caps. Most likely, the tickets have been printed and programs and other publications finished. Certainly, there are lots of other things that have the existing logo on them. It will take them some time to make all of the changes.
I agree that it's taken them a long time to do the right thing but here we are. I hope the Redskins are next.
AtheistCrusader
(33,982 posts)They are almost caught up to normal expectations I guess? Yay! Go teAm! woooo
Very... progressive.
LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)It's frustrating when society does not adhere to our own timetables of change.
Very... rational.
(wow! the irrelevant petulance truly is entertaining! Now I see why you do it)
AtheistCrusader
(33,982 posts)This shit ain't hard. And we didn't even have a cartoon-ized mascot. It was just a side-profile headdress logo.
The counter-argument during the removal was 'hey, it's respectful! it's not crude!'
Never mind that it was a depiction of a Plains native American headdress style that is not used by the local Duwamish and Snoqualmie tribes.
'Society' has been chipping away at this problem for decades. They were late to the party.
So are the 'redskins'. later stil.
LiberalLovinLug
(14,176 posts)But that would be even more difficult than the logo.
Nobody should use that phrase to describe indigenous Americans anymore. It was purportedly first used by Columbus upon landing with the mistaken belief that India was somehow connected to this new land, and these people were brown too so......
Unless they want to change their logo to this:
AtheistCrusader
(33,982 posts)It's the least critical issue, if you think about it. Total no-brainer. No one is hurt. No one is poorer as a result.
crazycatlady
(4,492 posts)They went from Devil Rays to Rays.
Neema
(1,151 posts)to buy more merch. I'm a graphic designer. I did a complete rebranding of a very large institution with hundreds of line items that needed to be redesigned in a matter of weeks. It can be done in way less than a year.
They just want to make money off the racists who'll buy everything they can get their hands on in the next year.
I'm glad they finally made the right decision, but I'm not buying that it takes another year to get it done.
FSogol
(45,525 posts)mac56
(17,574 posts)for proposed uniform changes.
niyad
(113,552 posts)mahatmakanejeeves
(57,600 posts)or this:
or this:
crazycatlady
(4,492 posts)niyad
(113,552 posts)Lochloosa
(16,068 posts)They will make the all time best Baseball Movie irreverent!!
LenaBaby61
(6,977 posts)And he didn't look like Chief Wahoo, and neither did anyone in his family that he knew of.
He HATED that logo.
Daddy, it's finally being removed
MyOwnPeace
(16,937 posts)and your Dad!
Ohiogal
(32,057 posts)And a huge fan of the Major League movie
And I say
IT'S ABOUT TIME
Cold War Spook
(1,279 posts)I'll say good for you when you change the name.
LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)Many people are dissatisfied when all their hopes and desires do not appear simultaneously, and slowly realize that great change often happens incrementally, regardless of the 'big deal' you allege.
LarryNM
(493 posts)the allegedly first American Indian in major league baseball - Louis Sockalexis?
He played for Cleveland in the late 19th century and as with so many at that
time faced blatant racism and had a tragic life and early death.
Botany
(70,581 posts)so this is a big move (although, way too late) for the Indians. You have generations that
grew up, lived their lives, and passed away w/Chief Wahoo as local icon that to those people
symbolized something good. Expect Fox News and the right wing to push this as a wedge
issue to keep the good white people in the suburbs upset. A Chief Wahoo flag or statue
in the day lily / rose flower bed in front of many homes for 30+ years was and still is a
way of life there.
hexola
(4,835 posts)I doubt its like they will prohibit fans from wearing Wahoo gear to the stadium...
hexola
(4,835 posts)I liked Wahoo - Indians fans always joked Wahoo was looked more like a Jewish indian - like the guys who played Indians on the old TV show F-Troop
I guess this post isnt the best support for keeping him...
brush
(53,848 posts)hexola
(4,835 posts)F TROOP! Where Indian fights are colorful sights And nobody takes a lickin', Where paleface and redskin Both turn chicken!
mac56
(17,574 posts)vkkv
(3,384 posts)for a change !
BumRushDaShow
(129,445 posts)The Washington football team needs to do the same.
Old Crank
(3,627 posts)But we should be thankful that it is happening. I would have liked to see this happen years ago. I would like it to happen for 2018 season. It is a big change. People will run out and buy up the last of the gear. People will still wear the old gear. It will be less and less. It is hard to make a change of this sort. And yes it could have happened sooner.
Now the pressure is on others to do the right thing.
geardaddy
(24,931 posts)Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin
(108,192 posts)That caricature was quite offensive
helmedon1974
(92 posts)The little "Red Sambo" caricature his highly offensive to Native Americans. As a Native American, I can also say "Redskins" is offensive.
Blue Hen Buckeye
(51 posts)but if they want to change the team name forget that. Well except if the want to change it to the Cleveland Slovaks, that's fine with me.
mahatmakanejeeves
(57,600 posts)"X" and not "cks," because it's the 21st century.
Take it away, Mott the Hoople:
What? Not Mott the Hoople? Okay, Ian Hunter then:
Various live versions:
This is good:
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)Last edited Tue Jan 30, 2018, 05:56 PM - Edit history (1)
Should have been done in the goddamned 90s when everyone was finally waking up.
So the 'skins have to be next, right? That's like the final boss of ethnically insensitive names...
mahatmakanejeeves
(57,600 posts)https://twitter.com/theplaindealer
https://twitter.com/plaindealer
https://twitter.com/vincethepolack
5+ years ago @okpants nailed the Wahoo "debate" in one of his best @ClevelandScene covers
Link to tweet
Uh, yeah; I see.
Retweeted by Cleveland Scene: https://twitter.com/ClevelandScene
A reminder that @ClevelandScene has a treasure trove of Chief Wahoo journalism, including the seminal 2012 opus, "The Curse of Chief Wahoo" by @peterpattakos.
Link to tweet
The Curse of Chief Wahoo
Are we paying the price for embracing America's last acceptable racist symbol?
By Peter Pattakos
Lanius
(599 posts)pressbox69
(2,252 posts)olddad56
(5,732 posts)customerserviceguy
(25,183 posts)Now, can they get rid of that stupid "Tomahawk Chop" thing they do in Atlanta? I remember seeing Jane Fonda do it with Ted Turner after she had made "Dances with Wolves". Did she learn anything from the experience?
yallerdawg
(16,104 posts)look how easy that was. Washington.
brooklynite
(94,727 posts)mahatmakanejeeves
(57,600 posts)Today on Uni Watch: Some thoughts about the mothballing of Chief Wahoo, plus Collector's Corner, a new Key Ring Chronicle, and more. Look here: https://uni-watch.com/2018/01/30/finally-indians-to-scrap-chief-wahoo-in-2019/
Link to tweet
BY PAUL LUKAS, ON JANUARY 30TH, 2018
As youve probably heard by now, Chief Wahoos days are numbered. The Indians will stop wearing the cartoon logo in 2019. The news was first reported yesterday afternoon by The New York Times, and MLB issued its own statement shortly thereafter. ... Heres a quick FAQ-style rundown of the situation:
{snip}
What do you think of all this?
Ive long been anti-Wahoo, so Im glad theyre finally mothballing him. I wish it had happened sooner (and also wish they would change the team name), but you take progress where you find it. ... I should also point out that Im no fan of the block-C, which has always struck me as too plain. Cleveland fans deserve a logo with more pizzazz either the 1970s caveman-C or something new.
As for the merch, theyre reportedly maintaining the retail presence for trademark-protection purposes (if they abandoned the mark commercially, it could be claimed by someone else, who could then produce their own Wahoo merch). Okay, but if you have to keep selling the stuff, why not donate the proceeds to Native American charities or something like that? Why keep profiting, even if only a little bit, on something youve just proclaimed to be unfit for on-field use?
Finally, a word to Cleveland fans: I realize many of you have grown up rooting for Wahoo and feel an emotional connection to the logo. I get it that kind of connection between fan and logo is part of why I created Uni Watch. So while Im pleased to see that Wahoo is finally on the way out, Im not gloating about it and Im certainly not taking any pleasure in the loss that some of you may be feeling. In time, I hope you can come to feel, as I do, that this was the right move to make.
For those wondering why the @Indians will still be selling merchandise with Chief Wahoo on it, that's to satisfy "use in commerce". It's a requirement for the team/league to maintain ownership of the trademark #SportsBiz
Link to tweet
kwassa
(23,340 posts)Major League baseball is a game of hallowed traditions. For the Cleveland Indians, the traditional throwing out of the first pitch every season is accompanied by a few other time-honored rituals, which include throwing out insults to Native Americans, some of whom come to the teams stadium each spring to protest the teams name and its cartoonish logo and mascot, Chief Wahoo. Were going to hold up signs, get ridiculed for about two hours and then were going to go home, Sundance, the director of Cleveland AIM, told Akron News Now before this years demonstration.
Those Native American protestors who gather at the ironically named Progressive Fieldsome of them members of the Cleveland American Indian Movement (AIM) and the Committee of 500 Years of Dignity and Resistancehave not been met with open arms or friendly words. Clevelands baseball fans have hurled beer cans and spat on them. The protesters have been called stupid and Custer-killers. Cleveland AIM calls the use of the Chief Wahoo mascot bigoted, racist and shameful, and the Committee of 500 complains that the logo is a negative stereotype against indigenous people.
.............................................................................................
Sundance reports that things can get pretty tense outside the gates of the Cleveland stadium on Opening Day. We have been actively protesting at the stadium since 1973, he says, adding that the Cleveland AIM was, formed in 1972 and in that same year we filed a lawsuit against Cleveland baseball for slander and libel Obviously it was unsuccessful, because we are still standing out there today.
He says the anti-Wahoo protestors are often joined by members of the Native organization known as The Peacekeepers, who stand as a human barrier to protect them from an often unruly and inebriated crowd. There were a couple of years in the recent past when The Peacekeepers were not there. In one of those years there was an assault, he says. The young gentleman who was assaulted came as a bystander He had a video camera and was doing a project for a class.
https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/news/standing-up-and-staying-put-four-decades-of-protesting-the-cleveland-indians-chief-wahoo/