Sports journalist wears ‘Cleveland Caucasians’ shirt on air, Twitter erupts

Sports journalist Bomani Jones raised eyebrows and sent Twitter into a tizzy on Thursday after he wore a shirt with “Cleveland Caucasians” written across it — mimicking the Cleveland Indians controversial logo.

Jones appeared on ESPN’s “Mike & Mike” on Thursday wearing the blue shirt, which also featured a yellow-skinned, blond-haired logo similar to the baseball team’s notorious Chief Wahoo.

Yet instead of the feathers worn in the original logo, a dollar sign appears behind the head.

It was reported to the Washington Post that ESPN had asked Jones to cover up the shirt throughout the show but he declined to do so.

When asked by co-host Molly Qerim why he chose to wear the shirt, Jones initially said that it was because “it was clean.”

The controversial logo and mascot have drawn outrage from Native American groups who claim the caricature and team name are racist and offensive.

READ MORE: Confederate flag coming down, but what about symbols offensive to Native Americans?

In response, the team has begun to move away from Chief Wahoo as their primary logo which now features a large “C.”

But the old logo still appears on the sleeves of players’ jerseys and owner Jerry Dolan recently told Cleveland’s Plain Dealer that the organization has “no plans to get rid of Chief Wahoo, it is part of our history and legacy.”

Jones, who has a history of spurring debates on social media both sports-related and otherwise, told Qerim later in the interview he hoped the shirt would cause “introspection” within those that found it offensive.

“To have a problem with the logo of this would be to have a problem with the Indians,” he said.

“But if you’re quiet about the Indians, and now you have something to say about my shirt, I think it’s time for introspection.”

Jones took it upon himself to address some of the negative responses directed his way.

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