Former President and “former baseball fan” Donald Trump slammed the Cleveland Indians franchise for changing its team name, blaming “absolutely crazy ideas and policies” for the decision.
The Major League Baseball team will become the Cleveland Guardians, it announced on Friday, after complaints that its current name is racist, though it did not specify when the name change would take place.
“Can anybody believe that the Cleveland Indians, a storied and cherished baseball franchise since taking the name in 1915, are changing their name to the Guardians? Such a disgrace, and I guarantee that the people who are most angry about it are the many Indians of our Country,” Trump said in a statement Friday.
CLEVELAND INDIANS CHANGE NAME TO GUARDIANS
It would be disrespectful “to rip that name and logo off of those jerseys,” Trump added.
“The people of Cleveland cannot be thrilled and I, as a FORMER baseball fan, cannot believe things such as this are happening,” he said. “A small group of people, with absolutely crazy ideas and policies, is forcing these changes to destroy our culture and heritage. At some point, the people will not take it anymore!”
The team foreshadowed the name change in 2020 following pressure from fans, Native American groups, and others who considered “Indians” a racist name. It had already dropped its “Chief Wahoo” mascot ahead of the 2019 season for the same reason.
“Now it’s time to unite as one family, one community, to build the next era for this team in this city. To keep watch and guard what makes this game the greatest,” the team’s Friday announcement, narrated by actor Tom Hanks, said.
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The NFL’s Washington Football Team, formerly the Redskins, dropped its name in 2020 following similar backlash. That organization has yet to announce a replacement name.
Cleveland’s team will likely premiere as the Guardians in 2022, according to MLB.com.
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Tags: News, Cleveland, Cleveland Indians, MLB, Donald Trump
Original Author: Jeremy Beaman
Original Location: Trump slams Cleveland name change as a ‘disgrace’