The Cleveland Indians will not be using their Chief Wahoo logo beginning in 2019, according to Major League Baseball.
Chief Wahoo has been on the Indians uniform since 1948, however, there has been pressure in recent decades put on the ball club to change the insignia due to its controversial and overly dramatized depiction of a Native American.
However, over the last year, commissioner Rob Manfred has been persistent in getting Indians chairman and chief executive Paul Dolan to change it.
“Ultimately [the Cleveland Indians organization] 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 acknowledgment that removing it from the on-field uniform by the start of the 2019 season is the right course,” Manfred said in a statement to the New York Times.
According to the Times, consumers will still be able to purchase items with the logo on them at the team’s souvenir shops in the stadium and at retail outlets in the northern Ohio market, but those items will not be available for sale on MLB’s website, however, Chief Wahoo will not appear on any part of the uniform or on banners at Progressive Field.
“We have consistently maintained that we are cognizant and sensitive to both sides of the discussion,” Dolan said in a statement issued by MLB. “While we recognize many of our fans have a longstanding attachment to Chief Wahoo, I’m ultimately in agreement with Commissioner Manfred’s desire to remove the logo from our uniforms in 2019.”
The Indians, however, will not relinquish the trademark to the logo and will still profit off sales of merchandise with the logo on it at the team store and Cleveland area.
To read the whole article from the Times, click here.
