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Former President Donald Trump blasted the Cleveland Indians on Friday for their name change announcement.
“Can anyone believe that the Cleveland Indians, a legendary and beloved baseball franchise since taking the name in 1915, are changing their name to become the Guardians?” the 45th commander-in-chief said in a statement.
“Such a shame, and I guarantee you the most angry people about this are the many Indians in our country,” he continued. “Wouldn’t it be an honor to have a team called the Cleveland Indians, and wouldn’t it be disrespectful to rip that name and logo off those jerseys?”
After months of speculation and internal discussion, the Cleveland Indians have announced that they will be changing their team’s name to the Cleveland Guardians.
The change is expected to take place after the 2021 season.
The franchise initially announced plans to drop the name “Indians” in December, acknowledging that the nickname is offensive and insensitive to Indigenous people. The Cleveland MLB team has been known as the Indians since 1915.
The name change also came after several years of petitions and challenges from Native American groups and fans across the country who rallied around the team’s name and the controversial Chief Wahoo logo.
Owner Paul Dolan also said he had a “wake-up call or epiphany” after the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man whose murder in May 2020 by a white police officer was recorded and shared with the world, triggering a national calculation on the race.
Reactions were mixed, but the former president’s position was clear.
“The people of Cleveland cannot be thrilled and I, as a FORMER baseball fan, cannot believe such things are happening. A small group of people, with absolutely crazy ideas and policies, strength these changes destroy our culture and our heritage, ”Trump said, probably referring to those who are behind the culture cancellation.
“At some point, people won’t take it anymore!
In 2018, the team began to distance themselves from their traditional imagery, stopping wearing the Chief Wahoo logo on their jerseys and caps.
Cleveland is the second team in a major professional sports league to undergo a rebranding in the past 12 months. Last July, the Washington NFL franchise dropped its Redskins name and temporarily played the role of the Washington football team.
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