Cleveland Indians to abandon Chief Wahoo logo in 2019

The Cleveland Indians are saying goodbye to Chief Wahoo after 2019.

The primary logo for the Cleveland Indians, Chief Wahoo, has been the subject of heated debate for quite some time now. However, on Monday the team announced that it would no longer have the divisive logo on its uniforms starting in the 2019 season.

Commissioner Manfred’s statement on the uniform change:

"“Major League Baseball is committed to building a culture of diversity and inclusion throughout the game,” said Commissioner Manfred. “Over the past year, we encouraged dialogue with the Indians organization about the Club’s use of the Chief Wahoo logo. During our constructive conversations, Paul Dolan made clear that there are fans who have a longstanding attachment to the logo and its place in the history of the team. Nonetheless, the club ultimately agreed with my position that the logo is no longer appropriate for on-field use in Major League Baseball, and I appreciate Mr. Dolan’s acknowledgement that removing it from the on-field uniform by the start of the 2019 season is the right course.”"

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The change will surely be a topic of debate for the entire season, but it’s a sign of things to come for sports logos. The Cleveland Indians are just the first domino to fall, but it can be expected that teams like the Redskins and Blackhawks might also change their logos soon.

For me, the change couldn’t come any sooner. I love my Cleveland baseball team, but knowing that I was rooting for a team that had a logo that was clearly offensive hurt me.

I know that many people have an emotional attachment to this logo because they grew up with it, but Chief Wahoo is a very crude depiction of the Native American people, and the fact that it remained as the primary logo for as long as it did is simply unacceptable.

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Regardless of what the logo is going forward, I will be a fan of the team. I hope that other fans going forward will also have the same outlook. Getting rid of Chief Wahoo doesn’t affect the performance of the team on the field. To be a fan is to be there through thick and thin, and that’s what I’ll continue to do, no matter what the logo is.