Social justice warriors have another scalp — no pun intended. News broke Sunday night that the upcoming baseball season could be the last for the Cleveland Indians.
A new name has not yet been decided upon, but “Cleveland Baseball Team” is likely for 2022.
The situation is similar in Washington, where the football franchise dropped its longtime “Redskins” moniker prior to this season and plays as “Washington Football Team” until a new name is chosen.
“We wanted to make sure we were thoughtful in connecting with all the different stakeholders, and we’ve been engaged in those conversations over the course of the last several months,” Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti explained in a cliché-laden statement. “I have personally participated in some of those and have been enlightened by some of those.”
The move comes just three years after Cleveland was forced to eradicate their longtime logo because, as hapless MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said at the time, “Major League Baseball is committed to building a culture of diversity and inclusion throughout the game.”
Cleveland’s baseball team has been known as the Indians for 106 years. While media tells us the team has “faced backlash from Native American groups who criticize the moniker as racist,” these beliefs are isolated.
In full woke mold, the New York Times’ David Waldstein and Michael Schmidt, who broke the story, claimed the decision “is part of a larger national conversation about race that magnified this year amid protests of systemic racism and police violence.”
Cleveland sports columnists began lecturing fans opposed to the idea five months ago, following the George Floyd drama, regurgitating, “This is a small part in a broader movement to deal with consequences of the past and end racial injustice and systemic racism.”
(Ah, “systemic racism,” a disingenuous term and heinous charge made daily by ignoramuses. Sorry, it doesn’t exist in America.)
Many colleges have, of course, been forced to end innocuous traditions, including the University of North Dakota, where faculty and the NCAA demanded “Sioux” be removed, despite almost no demand from the right-thinking community.
In reality, unlike upper middle class progressives, 90% of Native Americans across the country aren’t offended. They have bigger issues.
Of course, the edicts emanate from Democrat politicians, university elites, legacy media, feckless corporations and trust fund babies; regular fans — including my Ohio family members who’ve supported Cleveland sports since the 1930s — don’t care.
Cancel culture won’t stop. Ben and Jerry-loving millennials are bored, and using “social unrest” to excuse their warped agenda. As Native American communities fall apart due to socialist policies, the do-gooders change sports nicknames.
Atlanta Braves, Chicago Blackhawks, Indianapolis Indians and Kansas City Chiefs, you’re probably the mob’s next target.
A.J. Kaufman
A.J. Kaufman is an Alpha News columnist. His work has appeared in the Baltimore Sun, Florida Sun-Sentinel, Indianapolis Star, Israel National News, Orange County Register, St. Cloud Times, Star-Tribune, and across AIM Media Midwest and the Internet. Kaufman previously worked as a school teacher and military historian.