Predictably, the Atlanta Braves are next on the proverbial chopping block, as (mostly white) sports journalists try to force the franchise to change its name and erase yet more Native American imagery in sports.
USA Today columnist Bob Nightengale is one such journalist. Just days after he happily called the Braves by their name, he announced a brave new stance, declaring that he would not use their “racist and offensive” nickname. If you were a regular reader of sports media over the years, you will remember that this became the popular form of protest for sportswriters with the Washington Redskins.
He wrote a column on Oct. 18 with multiple references to the “Braves”. On Oct. 25, someone scrubbed all those words and changed them to “Atlanta”. pic.twitter.com/20jDNeMClp
— Scot Bertram (@ScotBertram) October 28, 2021
Sports Illustrated’s Stephanie Apstein is another, asking why the MLB allows “team-sanctioned racism in Atlanta.” She also said the Tomahawk Chop gesture by fans is “unconscionable” and that the Braves name “dehumanizes” Native Americans. We know this is true because she and Nightengale say so, and they are offended.
Of course, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred noted that the Braves have the support of local tribes. Angry at this, NBC News set out to find a bunch of other people from Native American tribes who opposed the Braves name and their signature celebration. One of the people they reached out to gave the game away: “We can’t let this just be a local Native issue.”
It was clear this was going to happen once the Washington Redskins became the Washington Football Team. The media crusade against the Redskins was aided by a few vocal Native American activists who did not speak for the majority of Native Americans on this issue. It was never about “Redskins” being a “slur.” It was about erasing the imagery entirely, from the Redskins to the Cleveland Indians to, yes, the Atlanta Braves.
This can’t “just be a local Native issue” because many local Native American tribes are supportive of team imagery and representation. This is true for the Florida State Seminoles, and it was even true for high schools (such as my high school’s rivals, formerly the Tulare Union Redskins). But, by supporting these team names, local tribes are getting in the way of the national activist machine for racial justice. And how can we have racial justice until we erase Native Americans from our sports culture?
Almost the only people offended by the Braves name are journalists such as Apstein and Nightengale, who are doing all they can to show how offended they are, and the select few activists that get called up to lend credibility to their accusations of racism. Most people in the real world, including the vast majority of Native Americans, don’t care about the Braves name or the Tomahawk Chop.
