Major League Baseball announced Monday that the Cleveland Indians will remove their "Chief Wahoo" logo from their uniforms for the 2019 season.
In a news release, Major League Baseball says the decision came after "thoughtful and productive discussions" between the league and the Indians.
"Major League Baseball is committed to building a culture of diversity and inclusion throughout the
game,” said Commissioner Robert Manfred in a news release. “Over the past year, we encouraged dialogue with the Indians organization about the Club’s use of the Chief Wahoo logo. During our constructive conversations, Paul Dolan made clear that there are fans who have a longstanding attachment to the logo and its place in the history of the team. Nonetheless, the club ultimately agreed with my position that the logo is no longer appropriate for on-field use in Major League Baseball, and I appreciate Mr. Dolan’s acknowledgement that removing it from the on-field uniform by the start of the 2019 season is the right course.”
The Chief Wahoo logo has been used in various forms since 1947. In transitioning away from the controversial logo in the past few years, the Indians introduced a block "C" logo on some of their ball caps and around their ballpark.
“We have consistently maintained that we are cognizant and sensitive to both sides of the discussion,” said Cleveland Indians owner Paul Dolan in a news release. “While we recognize many of our fans have a longstanding attachment to Chief Wahoo, I’m ultimately in agreement with Commissioner Manfred’s desire to remove the logo from our uniforms in 2019.”
