It’s about time!
The Cleveland Indians are eliminating the Chief Wahoo logo from their uniforms.
Come 2019, the smiling, red-faced caricature will no longer appear on Cleveland’s jerseys and ball caps.
Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred, along with many fans, have pressured Indians’ owner Paul Dolan to remove the cartoonish Native American from their uniforms saying it was no longer appropriate for use on the field.
It is interesting to note, however, that the team will still sell merchandise with the “inappropriate” logo.
And even though it’s “no longer appropriate,” the logo won’t be removed from Cleveland’s jerseys and caps this season.
Is this Cleveland’s version of a season-long retirement tour?
Are baseball’s other teams going to present the Tribe with touching momentos to mark the team’s 60-year-old logo?
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Golden mocassins or a silver teepee seem fitting, don’t they?
C’mon Cleveland!
And don’t get your hopes up that the team’s nickname is going to change either.
Same goes for the MLB’s Atlanta Braves, the NFL’s Washington Redskins, the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks and CFL’s Edmonton Eskimos.
I understand the history behind these controversial logos and team nicknames, but these franchises should realize that they have a win-win right in front of them.
Why don’t they get their fans involved in a “rename the team contest,” and then count the dollar signs as fans scoop up all the merchandise with the new logo?
It makes too much sense, I guess.
Dumping the Chief Wahoo logo is a step in the right direction.
But it is most likely the last step these misguided team owners and fanbases are willing to take.