Cleveland Indians to drop ‘Indians’ from its name, though not immediately

CNN — Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Indians announced Monday that the franchise will change the team name but will continue to play as the “Indians” until the club determines their new branding. “We also spoke to local civic leaders who represent diverse populations in our city and who highlighted the negative impact our team name has had on our broader population and on under-represented groups across our community.” Cleveland said the name change process is the first of many steps in their pledged rebranding effort, which “will take time.” The franchise did not set a timeline for the changes and said the club will continue to use the name Indians during the process. Origin of the Cleveland team name Change the Mascot, a national grass-roots campaign, applauded Cleveland’s move on Monday, saying it shows a growing understanding that Native people should not serve as mascots for sports teams. “With their commendable decision to alter the team name, Cleveland’s team is taking an important step,” Ray Halbritter, an Oneida Nation representative and leader of the Change the Mascot campaign, said in a statement.