Cleveland Major League Baseball Team Will No Longer Be Known As The 'Indians'

After 105 seasons, Major League Baseball's Cleveland team will no longer be known as the "Indians." The New York Times reported that the long-called-for change will finally go into effect ahead of the 2021 season.

The decision comes amidst growing calls for sports teams to change their Native American-themed mascots. After the NFL's Washington Redskins dropped the "Redskins" name ahead of the 2020 season, eyes turned to baseball's Cleveland team, who had been using the name "Indians" and a racist caricature of a Native American as their mascot for decades.

Cleveland began phasing out the mascot--a red, smiling Native American named "Chief Wahoo"--last season, opting to instead wear a red "C" on their uniforms. It is unclear if the team and city will decide on a new name before the 2020 season or follow the former-Redskins' lead and be known as "The Cleveland Baseball Team" for 2021.

Activists have been calling for the name change for decades, but pressure picked up amidst the racial tension in America during the summer. In 2014, Sporting News called for the removal of the team name and mascot while pointing out the team plays at Progressive Field, (named for the car insurance company Progressive). In 2016, ESPN contributor and sports columnist Bomani Jones famously pointed out the hypocrisy behind the name by wearing a parody Indians shirt with a white Chief Wahoo sporting the team name "Caucasians."

The Cleveland Indians are not going to admit it but @bomani_jones wearing the Caucasian shirt was the nail in the coffin for their name change pic.twitter.com/avBYfWKPc4

— Hood Politics (@marl0stanfield_) December 14, 2020

The move was mostly met with support from online commenters, who felt that though the change was long-overdue, better late than never.

👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 well done https://t.co/KqJktn6a0L

— Larry Nance Jr (@Larrydn22) December 14, 2020

Good call by the Cleveland team DavidWaldstein</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/nytmike?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">nytmike https://t.co/FdQbrioYeA

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 14, 2020

#ClevelandIndians changing names after a century might seem small. Like any other victory for common humanity over settler state formations, it wasn't voluntary. It can and will portend more and deeper structural victories if we understand that enough people can change anything.

— Greg Carr (@AfricanaCarr) December 14, 2020

Of course, not everyone was thrilled with the name change, including some usual, high-profile critics.

Oh no! What is going on? This is not good news, even for “Indians”. Cancel culture at work! https://t.co/d1l0C9g6Pd

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 14, 2020

The surrender spreads. This is a tragedy. #ClevelandIndians https://t.co/qLR3OnsCTu

— Mark Davis (@MarkDavis) December 14, 2020

Other professional sports teams with Native American imagery including the Atlanta Braves, Kansas City Chiefs, and Chicago Blackhawks recently stated they have no plans to change their names, though eyes will certainly turn towards them in the wake of Cleveland dropping their name.