Cleveland’s baseball team changes name to the Guardians

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/23/cleveland-indians-baseball-team-changes-name-to-the-guardians.html?fbclid=IwAR2hdQdP01RgnFq2FNNdc2vfg7VFyO3n80gacughDlpjrFP1OJgTBqpH0wQ

Cleveland’s baseball team changes name to the Guardians
Published Fri, Jul 23 20219:47 AM EDTUpdated 6 Min Ago
Kevin Stankiewicz @kevin_stank

Cleveland’s Major League Baseball team is changing its name to Guardians, the franchise announced Friday, dropping the racially offensive name it has been known as for more than a century.

The name Guardians is a reference to well-known Art Deco statues located on the Lorain-Carnegie Bridge, which spans the Cuyahoga River and connects downtown Cleveland to the city’s trendy Ohio City neighborhood. Those statues are known as the “Guardians of Traffic.”

The franchise, which announced the name change in a tweet Friday morning, had long faced pressure from activists locally and nationally to ditch the name “Indians,” which critics said was racist. It had been the baseball club’s name since 1915.

The video announcing the name change did not say when it goes into effect. However, MLB.com reported that will happen for next season. The 2021 season is currently underway, with the Cleveland franchise in second place in the American League Central.

Together, we are all… pic.twitter.com/R5FnT4kv1I

— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) July 23, 2021

The NFL’s Washington Football Team last year dropped its former name, which was decried as demeaning to Native Americans, as corporate backlash intensified. The franchise adopted Washington Football Team on a temporary basis, playing last season under that name. It will continue to be known as the Washington Football Team for the upcoming 2021 campaign.

The Washington Post reported earlier this month that a new name and logo will be announced in early 2022.