Cleveland Baseball Team Replaces Chief Wahoo Logo

Jan 10, 2014

The Cleveland baseball team’s* logo, a redfaced Native-American man named Chief Wahoo, is problematic, to say the least. And it looks like the Major League Baseball team’s owners are inching forward with their [slow phaseout](http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/01/09/cleveland-indians-slowly-phasing-out-chief-wahoo-153037) of the logo. For the 2014 season the Ohio team is replacing "Chief Wahoo" with a block letter ‘C’ as the team’s primary logo. The cartoon man’s face will become the secondary logo for the team. Good luck confirming that with the team, though. While first reported by ESPN, the team has actually denied that they are making such a move to avoid alienating people who are emotionally attached to the redfaced caricature, according to ESPN. Still, changes are on the way. From [ESPN](http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/10270450/mlb-cleveland-indians-de-emphasize-chief-wahoo-logo): > The Indians have no [uniform] alterations slated for 2014, which means Chief Wahoo will still be on the team’s home cap and on the left sleeve of all the team’s jerseys for at least one more season. In that sense, the impact of the logo redesignations would be more symbolic than practical. But symbolism matters, especially when discussing Chief Wahoo, whose own symbolism has become controversial. Although most of the debate about Native American imagery in sports has centered on the NFL’s Washington Redskins, there’s been a rising chorus of voices calling for the Indians to retire Wahoo. … Moreover, the logo redesignations would have ripple effects because media outlets — including "SportsCenter" and newspapers — would start using the block-C, instead of Wahoo, as their visual shorthand for the team. No doubt the Major League Baseball team’s owners are aware of the campaign to get Washington, D.C.’s NFL team to change its name. **Story has been updated since publication*