Cleveland Indians to Change Franchise Name

A picture of Progressive Stadium, home of the Cleveland Indians. The Indians are reportedly in the process of renaming their franchise, after decades of comments about the name being racist (photo courtesy AP News).

The Cleveland Indians have announced that they are changing their team name after 105 years. The team’s name has been called racist for many years, and they have been pondering new names for months. Their old mascot, Chief Wahoo, has already been removed from official merchandise in order to avoid offending people.

There is other imagery the American League charter franchise uses that people aren’t happy with. Terry Francona, Indians manager, said that in the past when they’d been asked about the name, they would just say they weren’t trying to be disrespectful. Now, he believes more is needed and this could be the answer. The Indians changing their name is a step towards making things right within the American League charter franchise.