The Chief Wahoo logo, already a topic of controversy, is featured on Jackie Robinson day via a new Cleveland Indians hat. You cannot make this stuff up.
The Cleveland Indians decided to phase the Chief Wahoo logo out of their jersey at the start of next season but raised controversy with their Jackie Robinson day hats this year featuring the racist mascot.
I have voiced my opinion on the Chief Wahoo logo in the past, but I feel the need to clarify my stance on this matter even further, after today’s events.
The Chief Wahoo logo is completely unacceptable for the team to use, not only now, but always has been. It is extremely offensive to Native Americans, as is the team name Indians, which is a racial slur that Christopher Columbus started when he thought he had landed in the West Indies.
To me, the most disappointing aspect of the use of the logo on the hat wasn’t the logo itself. The mascot is very offensive, but the fact that it was used on a day that is meant to celebrate racial diversity in baseball is extremely short-sighted on the part of Major League Baseball. They were clearly just trying to sell merchandise by any means possible and did not think about the negative connotation the hats were representing.
The Chief Wahoo logo goes against everything that Jackie Robinson stands for, and using the logo on hats, celebrating him is wrong. People like to believe that racism in baseball went away with Jackie Robinson, but that is far from the truth — with today a prime example of such truth.
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As long as the Indians still have their name and are using Chief Wahoo, there will always be racism in baseball.