Cleveland Will No Longer Call Baseball Team The Indians: Reports

Clevelands Major League Baseball franchise will reportedly drop its Indian moniker in the coming days, the latest team to heed fans and tribal communities request to leave behind a term long considered racist.

The New York Times first reported Sunday that Cleveland would announce plans for the teams next generation as soon as this week, although its unclear what exactly that means aside from dropping the term in the near future. The Times added that the team could keep the Indians name on uniforms for the 2021 season as the franchise figures out the massive logistical challenge to convert more than a century of iconography into a new era.

ESPN later confirmed the report.

EXCLUSIVE: For the past 105 years, the team was called the Indians. That will be no more as Cleveland has decided to change its name. Announcement from team could come as early as this week. w/@DavidWaldstein https://t.co/Nnw2nAoKcJ

Michael S. Schmidt (@nytmike) December 14, 2020","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Michael S. Schmidt","author_url":"https://twitter.com/nytmike","cache_age":86400,"description":"EXCLUSIVE: For the past 105 years, the team was called the Indians. That will be no more as Cleveland has decided to change its name. Announcement from team could come as early as this week. w/@DavidWaldstein https://t.co/Nnw2nAoKcJ Michael S. Schmidt (@nytmike) December 14, 2020\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","title":"Michael S. Schmidt on Twitter","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/nytmike/status/1338291508659761153","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"5fd6c7aec5b62f31c1fe507c","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/cleveland-changes-name-indians_n_5fd6c7aec5b62f31c1fe507c","entryTagsList":"the-new-york-times,washington-football-team,sports-and-recreation,espn,us-news,major-league-baseball,cleveland,@espn,@espn","sectionSlug":"us-news","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"sports","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.us-news","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mNkYAAAAAYAAjCB0C8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":6},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"5fd6c7aec5b62f31c1fe507c","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"The New York Times","slug":"the-new-york-times","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/the-new-york-times","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/the-new-york-times","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/the-new-york-times"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Media","slug":"media"},"topic":{"title":"The New York Times","slug":"the-new-york-times","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/the-new-york-times"},{"name":"washington football team","slug":"washington-football-team","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/washington-football-team","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/washington-football-team","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/washington-football-team"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/washington-football-team"},{"name":"Sports and Recreation","slug":"sports-and-recreation","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/sports-and-recreation","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/sports-and-recreation","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/sports-and-recreation"},"section":{"title":"Sports","slug":"sports"},"topic":{"title":"Sports","slug":"sports","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/topic/sports"},{"name":"ESPN","slug":"espn","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/espn","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/espn","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/espn"},"relegenceId":3456281,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Media","slug":"media"},"topic":{"title":"ESPN","slug":"espn","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/espn"},{"name":"U.S. News","slug":"us-news","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/us-news","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/us-news","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/us-news"},"relegenceSubjectId":981465,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"World News","slug":"world-news"},"topic":{"title":"United States","slug":"united-states","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/united-states"},{"name":"major league baseball","slug":"major-league-baseball","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/major-league-baseball","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/major-league-baseball","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/major-league-baseball"},"relegenceId":3698982,"section":{"title":"Sports","slug":"sports"},"topic":{"title":"MLB","slug":"mlb","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/topic/mlb"},{"name":"Cleveland","slug":"cleveland","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/cleveland","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/cleveland","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/cleveland"},"relegenceId":3449887,"department":{"name":"Life","slug":"lifestyle"},"section":{"title":"Travel","slug":"travel"},"topic":{"title":"Cleveland","slug":"cleveland","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/life/topic/cleveland"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}">

EXCLUSIVE: For the past 105 years, the team was called the Indians. That will be no more as Cleveland has decided to change its name. Announcement from team could come as early as this week. w/@DavidWaldstein https://t.co/Nnw2nAoKcJ
Michael S. Schmidt (@nytmike) December 14, 2020

The team has been known as the Indians since 1915 , but critics have lambasted the choice for decades, saying the use of such terms and adjacent imagery are harmful to indigenous people. Cleveland had begun phasing out logos that included a cartoon mascot called Chief Wahoo this year.

We are committed to making a positive impact in our community and embrace our responsibility to advance social justice and equality, the team said in July. Our organization fully recognizes our team name is among the most visible ways in which we connect with the community.

pic.twitter.com/NUM5GYvlwe

Cleveland Indians (@Indians) July 4, 2020","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Cleveland Indians","author_url":"https://twitter.com/Indians","cache_age":86400,"description":"pic.twitter.com/NUM5GYvlwe Cleveland Indians (@Indians) July 4, 2020\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":1080,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EcCrsRNXQAEj4AD.png:large","thumbnail_width":1920,"title":"Cleveland Indians on Twitter","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/Indians/status/1279211112769216512","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"5fd6c7aec5b62f31c1fe507c","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/cleveland-changes-name-indians_n_5fd6c7aec5b62f31c1fe507c","entryTagsList":"the-new-york-times,washington-football-team,sports-and-recreation,espn,us-news,major-league-baseball,cleveland,@espn,@espn","sectionSlug":"us-news","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"sports","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.us-news","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mNkYAAAAAYAAjCB0C8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":6},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"5fd6c7aec5b62f31c1fe507c","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"The New York Times","slug":"the-new-york-times","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/the-new-york-times","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/the-new-york-times","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/the-new-york-times"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Media","slug":"media"},"topic":{"title":"The New York Times","slug":"the-new-york-times","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/the-new-york-times"},{"name":"washington football team","slug":"washington-football-team","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/washington-football-team","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/washington-football-team","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/washington-football-team"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/washington-football-team"},{"name":"Sports and Recreation","slug":"sports-and-recreation","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/sports-and-recreation","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/sports-and-recreation","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/sports-and-recreation"},"section":{"title":"Sports","slug":"sports"},"topic":{"title":"Sports","slug":"sports","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/topic/sports"},{"name":"ESPN","slug":"espn","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/espn","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/espn","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/espn"},"relegenceId":3456281,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Media","slug":"media"},"topic":{"title":"ESPN","slug":"espn","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/espn"},{"name":"U.S. News","slug":"us-news","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/us-news","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/us-news","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/us-news"},"relegenceSubjectId":981465,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"World News","slug":"world-news"},"topic":{"title":"United States","slug":"united-states","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/united-states"},{"name":"major league baseball","slug":"major-league-baseball","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/major-league-baseball","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/major-league-baseball","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/major-league-baseball"},"relegenceId":3698982,"section":{"title":"Sports","slug":"sports"},"topic":{"title":"MLB","slug":"mlb","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/topic/mlb"},{"name":"Cleveland","slug":"cleveland","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/cleveland","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/cleveland","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/cleveland"},"relegenceId":3449887,"department":{"name":"Life","slug":"lifestyle"},"section":{"title":"Travel","slug":"travel"},"topic":{"title":"Cleveland","slug":"cleveland","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/life/topic/cleveland"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}">

pic.twitter.com/NUM5GYvlwe
Cleveland Indians (@Indians) July 4, 2020

Also in July, Washingtons National Football League team said it would no longer be called the Redskins , a derogatory and racist name that had also drawn intense criticism from fans and Native American activists. The franchise has been known as the Washington Football Team this year.

Your Support Has Never Been More Critical

Other news outlets have retreated behind paywalls. At HuffPost, we believe journalism should be free for everyone.

Would you help us provide essential information to our readers during this critical time? We can't do it without you.

Can't afford to contribute? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.

You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you.

Whether you give once or many more times, we appreciate your contribution to keeping our journalism free for all.

Whether you give just one more time or sign up again to contribute regularly, we appreciate you playing a part in keeping our journalism free for all.

Support HuffPost

The decision to use Washington Football Team for this season allows the franchise the ability to undertake an in-depth branding process to properly include player, alumni, fan, community, and sponsor input, the team said at the time.

Other teams have so far resisted calls to follow the teams lead, including the Chicago Blackhawks and Kansas City Chiefs.