Cleveland baseball team distances itself from racist caricatures


The team that goes by the name the Cleveland Indians used to have a grotesque caricature called Chief Wahoo as the team logo. Each year on opening day there would be demonstrations against the logo and the name, leading to confrontations with fans who were determined to hold on to the racist images. The team has been slowly bowing to pressure to change, after long resisting it in the name of ‘tradition’. It no longer has the logo on team uniforms and has promised to phase out the name as well. It has now announced new policies for fans

Cleveland Indians fans will not be able to paint their faces in Native American fashion or wear headdresses to games at Progressive Field this season, according to a new team policy.

The no-tolerance policy also involves abusive or inappropriate language or conduct deemed disorderly or disruptive, and that includes “inappropriate dress.” The team says fans could be ejected or refused admission.

Restricted attire includes headdresses and face paint that references American Indian cultures and traditions. Inappropriate or offensive images, words, dress or face paint must be covered or removed. The prohibition extends to solicitation of contributions and distribution of literature at Progressive Field.

However the team is not willing to hurt its revenue source of selling merchandise because “The policy does not extend to the Chief Wahoo logo on attire, said Curtis Danburg, vice president of communications and community impact.”

Comments

  1. Holms says

    Ah, so they’re not permitting racist caricatures into their games any more… except for the official (i.e. monetised) ones.

    I wonder, do actually they imagine the protests and bad press will go away now?

  2. chigau (違う) says

    I am baffled.
    If the SportsBall team changes its logo, all of the SportsBallFans will buy the new crap.
    They may hold on to the old crap but within one or two sportsball seasons, all of the Fans will be in the new gear.

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