The Cleveland Indians have announced they will be dropping the “Indians” moniker, as expected when the organization said it was discussing that possibility back in July. This reinforces the idea the liberal media has pushed on the sports world: The best way to honor Native Americans is to erase them.
Cleveland’s organization was clearly spooked into changing the name, announcing the possibility just hours after the Washington Redskins dropped their own “offensive” name. Now, they are poised to follow through on it. But that’s not going to be enough.
You might remember that these discussions centered on the “Redskins” name being a racial slur or the Indians’ Chief Wahoo logo being an offensive caricature. But now, the New York Times report announcing the Indians’ intention to rename says that there is a “wider push for sports teams to stop using Native American names and imagery.”
It was obvious that this effort wouldn’t stop with the Redskins, and it won’t stop with the Indians either. The Atlanta Braves and the Kansas City Chiefs are likely to be the next targets, and it isn’t unrealistic to think the push will reach the Florida State Seminoles.
It’s all based on an idea with no standing in reality. Nine in 10 Native Americans weren’t even offended by the Redskins name, which was considered to be the worst of the bunch. Now, liberal media and corporate sponsors have decided that honoring the bravery and toughness of Native Americans by naming sports teams after them is offensive. Better to just erase them from our shared culture altogether.
The Indians held their name for 105 years before the Black Lives Matter movement used its summer of political capital on policing the skin color of voice actors and redesigning syrup bottles. The renaming is not sincere because the purported issue never was.
The issue is best encapsulated by Spokane, Washington, Native American activist Suzan Shown Harjo, who said of the Spokane Indians minor league baseball team, “There is no such thing as respectable treatment of any mascot or team name that has a native theme in sports.” She demands the name be changed. Her opponent in this discussion? The Spokane Tribe of Indians, which has worked in collaboration with the team and wants the name to carry on.
Busybody activists and liberal media outlets are not pushing for respect for Native Americans. They are pushing them out of the culture, pressuring corporate sponsors to force teams into name changes that Native Americans themselves don’t want or care for. Cleveland’s name change is no different, and that fact will remain when the cycle continues in Kansas City and Atlanta.
