MLB: the Cleveland Indians will change their name

The Cleveland Indians will drop their name, considered racist by several groups of Native Americans, according to US media information released on Sunday. They had been known by this name since 1915. But they had been under pressure from influence groups for several years to abandon this name, without success until now.

The Indians had already decided to drop their logo representing Chief Wahoo, a stereotypical caricature of Native Americans, in order to respond to criticism. Then they announced that they had launched an in-depth study on their name.

According to New York Times, the Cleveland team is expected to announce a name change this week. But he does not say whether this change would be accompanied by the presentation of the new identity of the team.

The Indians imitate the Redskins

The Cleveland Indians are set to become the second professional team to shed their Native American image, after a similar change from Washington’s American football team, which earlier this year abandoned their Redskins name, to the same reasons. The team is now called the Washington Football Team.

The Indians had been founded in 1900, under the name of Cleveland Lake Shores, before being called the Blues a year later, then the Naps, in reference to Napoleon « Nap » Lajoie, one of their historical stars, in 1902. They were twice World Series winners in 1920 and 1948 (and finalists in 1954, 1995, 1997 and 2016).

Three more teams with a name inspired by the Amerindians

The announcement comes in a context of tension around names and collective memory, under the influence of a movement called « Cancel Culture » aimed at removing the presence in public space of controversial characters, starting with them. former Southern officers during the Civil War (1861-1865).

On Twitter, outgoing President Donald Trump did not hesitate to point the finger at this movement, estimating on Twitter on Sunday  » that this was not good news, even for the Indians « .