Pressure is mounting for the Cleveland Indians to part ways with their longtime Chief Wahoo logo, according to The New York Times.
In a statement to the outlet, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said via spokesperson Pat Courtney that he has expressed his “desire to transition away from the Chief Wahoo logo” in talks with Indians ownership.
“We have specific steps in an identified process and are making progress,” Courtney told The Times. “We are confident that a positive resolution will be reached that will be good for the game and the club.”
The controversial logo has been in use since 1947, but has increasingly been the subject of many protests and requests for action.
The team has transitioned to using the block C logo in recent years while demoting the outdated Chief Wahoo emblem to secondary status, a movement promoted by former Indians president (and current Blue Jays boss) Mark Shapiro.
While Shapiro has said the “Indians” moniker was never an issue with him or groups he spoke with, he has been open about his opinion on the logo and said he was “personally bothered” by the Chief Wahoo emblem.
“The logo — Chief Wahoo — is one that was troubling to me personally,” Shapiro told reporters in October. “So when I was an official spokesman for the Cleveland Indians, I distanced myself from the fact that it personally bothered me. But we as an organization with strong support from ownership came up with the ‘Block C’ that you’re wearing on your credentials right now. We built equity in the ‘Block C.’
“We gave that alternative for people and I think that we established that as an important logo and now the primary logo for the Cleveland Indians. And so I’m proud of that.
“I think there will be a day, whenever that is, that the people that are making decisions here decide that Chief Wahoo is no longer fitting. But people in [Cleveland] — over 90 per cent of them — are deeply, deeply passionate about Chief Wahoo and want him to be part of their team. So that’s about all I’ll say because I’m not really focused or care that much about that anymore. That’s my opinion.”
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