Sports

After 105 Years, Cleveland Will Drop ‘Indians’ From Baseball Team Name

Jim Schulz of Elyria shows off his Cleveland Indians mascot painted head outside of Progressive Field prior to game 6 of the World Series against the Chicago Cubs on November 1, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cleveland Indians are one victory away from their first World Series championship since 1948. (Photo by Justin Merriman/Getty Images)
Virginia Kruta Associate Editor
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Cleveland’s Major League Baseball team will reportedly drop “Indians” from its name as early as this week.

“For the past 105 years, the team was called the Indians. That will be no more as Cleveland has decided to change its name,” New York Times reporter Michael Schmidt tweeted. (RELATED: ‘Time To Move Forward’: Cleveland Indians Manager Reveals If He Supports Changing The Team’s Name)

According to Schmidt’s report, the decision was part of “a wider push for sports teams to stop using Native American names and imagery as team names and mascots.” He cited three sources who had spoken to him about the proposed change on condition of anonymity.

Although the report indicated that the official news could come as early as this week, a full transition away from the name Cleveland’s American League team has used since 1915 might not be as immediate. One source told Schmidt that the name and current logo — the previous mascot Chief Wahoo was phased out in 2019 — would likely remain through the 2021 season with the change taking effect as early as 2022.

Cleveland follows the steps of the NFL’s former Washington Redskins, now known as the Washington Football Team.