Cleveland Indians to retire ‘Chief Wahoo’ but retain logo on merchandise
Facing pressure from Major League Baseball, the team said it would retire the racially divisive mascot in 2019. The announcement received mixed response on Twitter and other social media.
After 70 years, Chief Wahoo is going away—sort of.
Beginning in 2019, the Cleveland Indians’ logo/mascot will be phased out, disappearing from on-field uniforms but remaining on some team merchandise.
The move follows years of pressure from activists and Major League Baseball itself, and it goes against the wishes of many Cleveland fans, as was noted in a cautious statement from Indians principal owner Paul Dolan.
“We have consistently maintained that we are cognizant and sensitive to both sides of the discussion,” Dolan said in a statement issued by M.L.B. “While we recognize many of our fans have a longstanding attachment to Chief Wahoo, I’m ultimately in agreement with Commissioner Manfred’s desire to remove the logo from our uniforms in 2019.”
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