Cleveland Indians' logo will be discontinued by 2019 season By Associated Press, adapted by Newsela staff on 02.01.18 Word Count 750 Level 1040L

The shoulder patch of the Indians mascot Chief Wahoo. The team is taking the divisive logo off jerseys and caps, starting in 2019. Photo by: Patrick Semansky/AP Photo

CLEVELAND, — After a great deal of debate, the ' logo will no longer be used on the players' uniforms. Chief Wahoo, the baseball team's red-faced, big-smiling mascot, will not be used on the field starting next year. Native Americans believe Chief Wahoo is a caricature of their culture.

The polarizing mascot is coming off the team's jersey sleeves and caps starting in the 2019 season. The move will end Chief Wahoo's presence on the field. However, the change may not completely silence those who call the image racist.

Paul Dolan is the owner of the Cleveland Indians. He has been in lengthy discussions with Rob Manfred, who is in charge of . The result is that the team's cartoon mascot, which has been used in various expressions since 1947, will be removed starting 2019.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 1 An Insensitive Caricature And Name

However, the team will continue to wear the Wahoo logo on its uniform sleeves and caps in 2018. The club will also still sell merchandise featuring the mascot in . The team must continue to sell the logo in stores so the league and team can keep ownership of the image.

"Major League Baseball is committed to building a culture of diversity and inclusion throughout the game," Manfred said. He said the logo "is no longer appropriate for on-field use."

The decision is unlikely to stop complaints from Native American organizations and others who see the symbol — and the team's very name — as insensitive.

"I'm elated," Philip Yenyo, executive director of the American Indian Movement of Ohio, said of the decision to remove Wahoo from uniforms. "But at the same time, I think it should be this year. I don't understand why they're drawing this out. It doesn't make any sense to me, unless they want to continue to make what's basically blood money."

"Just make the leap already," he added.

Yenyo and others have demanded that the team go further and drop "Indians" as its name. "If they don't get rid of the name, then you're still going to have fans going down there wearing headdresses and painted in ."

National Attention On Team Sparked Recent Criticism

National criticism about the Indians' allegiance to Chief Wahoo grew in 2016, when the Indians made it to the . At the time, Manfred expressed his desire to have the team get rid of the symbol. Earlier in that postseason while the club was playing in Toronto, a lawsuit was filed to have the logo and team name banned from appearing on Canadian TV. That court case was dismissed by a judge.

The Indians' bid to host the 2019 All-Star Game, which it was awarded, added debate over Wahoo.

Under growing pressure to stop using Chief Wahoo, the club has been transitioning away from the logo in recent years. The Indians introduced a block "C'' insignia on some of their caps. They have also removed signs with the Wahoo logo in and around , the team's downtown ballpark.

The fight over Wahoo has spanned decades in Cleveland.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 2 Every year, groups of Native Americans and their supporters have protested outside the stadium before the first game of the season. They do not only want to get rid of Chief Wahoo, but to also change the Indians' nickname. The protestors feel the name is a harmful representation of Native Americans.

The protestors have been met with fans devoted to preserving Chief Wahoo's place in team history. The Indians' revival in the mid-1990s helped spur a downtown revival in Cleveland.

Some Fans Remain Attached To Symbol

Dolan said that he has been aware and sensitive to both sides of the discussion. "While we recognize many of our fans have a long-standing attachment to Chief Wahoo, I'm ultimately in agreement with Commissioner Manfred's desire to remove the logo from our uniforms in 2019."

The presence of the Wahoo logo is likely to remain strong in the stands on caps, T- shirts and signs. And other Native American references in the stadium will probably continue as well. For over 40 years, one fan, , has pounded a tom-tom, in the left-field bleachers. A tom-tom is a Native American drum.

The issue is not exclusive to baseball. The NFL's Washington have come under similar fire to change their logo and nickname. So far, the team has resisted. Last year, a Supreme Court ruling in another case cleared the way for the Redskins to preserve the image on its logo.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 3 Quiz

1 What is the author's MAIN purpose in including information about the Washington Redskins?

(A) to demonstrate how another sports team went through the process of changing their logo

(B) to explain where Commissioner Manfred got the idea to remove the Chief Wahoo logo

(C) to emphasize how sports teams that use racist logos are now facing consequences in court

(D) to show that the problem of using Native American logos is not just limited to baseball

2 Yenyo believes that both the Chief Wahoo logo and the nickname “Indian” are offensive and should be removed immediately.

Which of the following BEST explains how Dolan's perspective is different?

(A) Although Dolan agrees that the Chief Wahoo logo should be removed, he is absolutely against changing the name of the Cleveland Indians.

(B) Although Dolan agrees that the Chief Wahoo logo should be removed, he understands why some fans do not want to part with the logo.

(C) Although Dolan does not understand why people are so upset about the logo and the nickname, he still agreed to support Commissioner Manfred.

(D) Although Dolan does not understand why people are so upset about the logo and the nickname, he still wants to see the debate from all sides.

3 How does Manfred justify his decision to remove the Chief Wahoo logo from being used on the field?

(A) He explains that he tried to look at the debate from many different points of view but eventually decided that the logo was inappropriate.

(B) He explains that the protests were the determining factor in his decision to remove the Chief Wahoo logo from usage.

(C) He explains that keeping the Chief Wahoo logo would be against the ideals that Major League Baseball wants to embody.

(D) He explains that the logo will only be removed from the field and that people can still purchase the merchandise with the logo on it.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 4 4 Which of the following pieces of evidence from the article is MOST relevant to the author's argument?

(A) The polarizing mascot is coming off the team's jersey sleeves and caps starting in the 2019 season. The move will end Chief Wahoo's presence on the field. However, the change may not completely silence those who call the image racist.

(B) The club will also still sell merchandise featuring the mascot in Northeast Ohio. The team must continue to sell the logo in stores so the league and team can keep ownership of the image.

(C) Earlier in that postseason while the club was playing in Toronto, a lawsuit was filed to have the logo and team name banned from appearing on Canadian TV. That court case was dismissed by a judge.

(D) The NFL's Washington Redskins have come under similar fire to change their logo and nickname. So far, the team has resisted. Last year, a Supreme Court ruling in another case cleared the way for the Redskins to preserve the image on its logo.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 5