Our View: Goodbye Chief Wahoo: Now let’s ditch all racist mascots

Baseball is, and always has been, a celebration of the past. Its roots are soiled in a historic run of great athletes, and one of the first franchises to bring fanhood into the country.

It’s a great odyssey that celebrates curse breakers and long balls. From the Sultan of Swat to Shoeless Joe, baseball celebrates the vivid late history of the United States.

That being said, there is always a breaking point.

The Cleveland Indians moved from Grand Rapids in 1900 and have stayed there ever since. After various name changes, the name “Indians” stuck. Rooted in the history of Native American tribes, the organization has kept the name through mass events of culture change.

But the name wasn’t the biggest problem. The logo, eventually named “Chief Wahoo,” depicts a stereotypical Indian head with feather and cartoonish features.

The logo originated in a local Cleveland newspaper during the ’30s to symbolize a big win. However, the club did not use that specific logo. Instead, in 1972, a caricature was hired to represent the image from all that time ago. Chief Wahoo was used as the primary logo from 1947 to 2013, being replaced by the “C” that dawns the cap today.

Now the times have caught up with Cleveland, and times are changing. After adjusting the article to just be used as an alternate logo in 2013, the organization and league announced on Jan. 29 that the old logo will no longer be used to symbolize the team on-field; however, the logo will still be used in merchandising.

It took them forever to relinquish the logo from the uniforms, and now it’s not even going to be banned from the organization. Just the uniforms. This is a step in the right direction, but it’s a small step.

We think it’s too small a step. Teams like the Atlanta Braves and Washington Redskins are still behind in the times. Forget team history. Forget the culture. The only thing that should be considered is offense.

Leagues need to take charge and force the organizations to change their names and logos. The discrimination of races and ethnicities on such a public statue is unneeded.

The Indians made the right move, but they aren’t done. Franchises that use discriminating nicknames around American sports need to follow the Indians and make the change.

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