The Cleveland Indians are bidding adieu to Chief Wahoo, their controversial Native American mascot who has served as the team's primary logo until recently and has still had a major presence with the team.
SEE ALSO:Cleveland Browns fans commiserate winless season with a parade of protestThe announcement was made on Monday, via the New York Times, as the team said the Wahoo logo, long derided as a racist caricature by many, would be fully removed from the team's current set of jerseys and logos by 2019.
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Debuting in 1948, the logo has remained in circulation even as the team has made it less prominent in favor of the new block "C" logo that currently adorns their main caps.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has been publicly pressuring the team to remove the logo, the topic of debate coming into the spotlight in 2017 when the team was named as the host site of the 2019 All-Star Game.
The logo won't be completely gone, though. Though it won't be for sale on merchandise through MLB and it won't appear on jerseys, caps, or in Progressive Field where the Indians play, items with the logo will still be available locally, in stores across northern Ohio and in the team's shop.
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And it will likely still sell quite well. The logo has been an incredibly divisive topic in Cleveland in recent years, with many clinging to it out of nostalgia and local campaigns calling for the team to keep the logo despite protests.
Speaking to Cleveland.com, owner Paul Dolan said of the logo, "You can't help but be aware of how many of our fans are connected to Chief Wahoo. We grew up with it. I remember seeing the little cartoon of The Chief in the paper each day, showing if the Indians won or lost."
While the team has used the image of a Native American as their logo for nearly 100 years, it wasn't until the late 1940's that the Wahoo logo was used but Wahoo has remained, for the most part, unchanged since then. The creator of the original logo passed away in late 2017.
A good example of how touchy the subject has been locally in Cleveland? Then-team president Mark Shapiro said in 2013 that the Wahoo logo was "going nowhere" even as he was helping to gently nudge the team away from Wahoo.
Shapiro eventually left the Indians to work for the Toronto Blue Jays where he found himself in the spotlight again over the logo thanks to a legal challenge made in Canada, hoping to prevent the Indians from wearing clothing with the logo during a 2016 playoff series against the Blue Jays.
Speaking before that series, Shapiro was more explicit, saying he had always been bothered by the Wahoo logo, something that was easier to say now that he was no longer part of the team.
While the team name is staying, the (mostly) thorough removal of the Wahoo logo is the biggest move yet among teams who have faced criticism over the way they portray indigenous peoples, including the ongoing storm brewing over the Washington NFL franchise.
But, for now, it's a step in the right direction, even if many Indians fans will resist and rasie a ruckus as the day of Wahoo's final departure draws ever nearer.
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