Enlarge image
Old Cleveland jersey: In the future with a different name
Photo:
Tony Dejak / AP
Cleveland's major league baseball team, known as the Indians since 1915, will be called Guardians.
The traditional club had already announced the name change last December, and the new name has now been announced in a video spoken by actor Tom Hanks on Twitter.
After the Washington Football Team, which split from its Redskins (Redskins) name last summer, the baseball players were the second team from one of the major US leagues to give in to public pressure.
The then US President Donald Trump had sharply criticized this.
"What's happening?
It's not good news, even for 'Indians,' ”the Republican commented.
Criticism of the names - including that of the Kansas City Chiefs from the NFL or the Chicago Blackhawks from the NHL - has been around for years.
You are criticized as racist by many Native Americans and other Americans.
After the murder of the African American George Floyd in May 2020 and the subsequent protests against racism in the United States, the pressure also increased on these teams.
From the Chiefs and the Blackhakws, however, no considerations are known to change their team name.
Previously separated from mascots
Cleveland had already separated from its mascot, an Indian cartoon, in 2019.
When the footballers from the capital announced the decision to part with the nickname Redskins in July 2020, the Indians for their part announced an in-depth dispute with their own name.
With the name change, which comes into force after the current season, more than 40,000 fans have now been asked, it said.
More than 1000 names were considered.
The club was founded in 1894 as Grand Rapids Rustlers, after which it changed the name several times before it stayed with Indians from 1914.
Until now.
mon / dpa / Reuters
