Cleveland Indians to ditch controversial 'Chief Wahoo' logo

Logo has been criticised as racist to Native Americans

People protest Chief Wahoo outside prior to a game between the Cleveland Indians and the Minnesota Twins in Cleveland, Ohio (Jason Miller/Getty Images)

The Cleveland Indians baseball team will stop using a logo long criticised as being offensive to Native Americans.

Beginning in 2019, the grinning, red-faced visage of “Chief Wahoo” will vanish from the squad's uniforms, Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred announced.

“Major League Baseball is committed to building a culture of diversity and inclusion throughout the game,” Mr Manfred said in a press release.

As with the dispute over the name of Washington Redskins, an American football team representing the nation’s capital, the fate of Chief Wahoo pitted Native Americans who decried racism against fans who argued they were simply upholding their team’s history.

Those debates have cited two starkly different legacies: while some fans have argued for the continuity of team traditions, Native American activists have said teams that invoke offensive language or use cartoonish portrayals are perpetuating a long history of violence and discrimination.

“While we recognise 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,” said Indians owner Paul Dolan.

In 2016, with the Indians playing the Toronto Blue Jays for a spot in the World Series, an aboriginal activist and architect named Douglas Cardinal unsuccessfully sought to block the Indians’ name and logo from being used during games in Canada.

Multiple reports said that the notion of changing the Cleveland team’s name did not surface in discussions of the logo.

As reactions poured in, some people wondered if the Indians’ decision would influence the effort to change the Washington football team’s name.

“I applaud MLB and the Indians for abandoning the Chief Wahoo caricature after the 2018 season,” baseball announcer Dick Bremer said on Twitter. “I also hope the news reaches the NFL offices”.