Updated: 4:29 p.m., Monday, Dec. 14, 2020
Cleveland Indians ownership on Monday afternoon confirmed that the process of changing the team name has officially begun.
The New York Times , using anonymous sources.
鈥淥ur decision to change the current name is phase one of a multi-phased process,鈥� team owner and CEO Paul Dolan wrote in a Monday letter to fans. 鈥淔uture decisions, including the new name and brand development, are complex and will take time. We believe our new name will take us into the future and proudly represent this storied franchise for decades and generations to come. In light of the importance, we will not rush these decisions.鈥�
Dolan and the team鈥檚 front office , with a statement that came on the heels of the decision by the Washington, D.C., football team to drop a nickname long considered to be racist.
Fans are seemingly split over the issue.
Alyssa Velotta, 33, who has spent many Summer nights at 鈥淭he Corner鈥� inside Progressive Field eating 鈥淒ollar Dogs鈥� and socializing with Tribe fans in her generation, is happy with the announcement and believes the name should've been changed years ago.
鈥淲hen they first announced it in July, I was a little skeptical that they were actually going to follow through with it,鈥� Velotta said. 鈥淚t seemed like it was very much an opportunistic announcement. Now, I stand corrected.
"Now that they are making it official, I almost feel relieved that they are finally doing the right thing," Velotta said.
Terry Kavouras has been attending Indians games since the 1960's and said the change is unnecessary.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to take extra super care to not insult anybody and I don't know how it's insulting,鈥� Kavouras said. 鈥淚 really don't understand it, but again, I鈥檓 just an old Boomer, so what do I know?鈥�
Kavouras said he doesn鈥檛 see much difference between a nickname like the Indians or the Spartans.
鈥淢y ancestors were Spartans,鈥� Kavouras said. 鈥淵ou know, if you call your team Spartans I think that鈥檚 honorable, really. You鈥檙e saying 鈥業 want to associate myself with these legendary warriors.鈥欌��
In his letter, Dolan pointed out that Native American groups and researchers were among those consulted by the club, and although members within the same organizations sometimes had deferring opinions, changing the name will better unify the Cleveland community.
Velotta said as a white woman, it's not her thoughts and opinions that should be used as a measuring stick.
鈥淲hen indigenous people are coming in and they are saying 鈥業 am offended by this. I do not like this name,鈥� I need to take their feelings into consideration and not my own,鈥� Velotta said.
Velotta also believes the team should change their name to the Guardians, after the .
鈥淵ou want to look for something that is uniquely Cleveland that completely takes things away from the direction they were in, the offensive direction that they were in, what has caused so much pain and make something that all of us can recognize as locals,鈥� Velotta said.
While Kavouras said the announcement doesn鈥檛 really change his opinion on the team, he doens't plan to rush out to buy new merchandise or otherwise financially support the club.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to take a while for this to kind of settle in to my bones, as it were, and I wouldn鈥檛 want to be like the first kid on the block with the new team name because it does bug me,鈥� Kavouras said. 鈥淚t does bother me a little bit that it's changing.
鈥淚n a way, it鈥檚 a new team, right?鈥� Kavouras said. 鈥淏ecause they got kind of a new ethos, right? That鈥檚 now going to be in line with every other social justice issue, I guess.鈥�
In a statement, the team said the decision has been made to begin the process of changing to a new, non-Native American based name, but will remain the Indians until a new name is selected.
In 2018, the Indians began the now completed phase-out of mascot Chief Wahoo after decades of concerns it was a racist caricature. Some Native Americans have long felt the team鈥檚 name should change as well, regularly .
Dolan acknowledged in his statement that many fans oppose changing the name.
鈥淟ike many of you, I grew up with this name and have many great memories of past Indians teams,鈥� Dolan wrote. 鈥淲hile I have often associated these unforgettable memories with the name Indians, I sincerely believe Cleveland is the most important part of our team name.鈥�
On the Indians web site, the team offered . Not all views were the same, but several common themes arose.
鈥淢any of the Native Americans we spoke with described feeling as though the true narrative of their people 鈥� the story of who they are 鈥� has been erased and replaced by things like our team name,鈥� the web post reads.
It also noted Native American groups said popular culture has a lot to do with the perception of Native American people: 鈥淭hey expressed a belief that instead of immediately thinking about modern members of society who may be doctors, teachers, or engineers, many people tend to first think of a caricature of 鈥業ndians.鈥欌��
The team also noted that using the Indians name may be problematic beyond the Native American community: 鈥淐leveland civic leaders shared that our name was having a negative impact on various communities of color 鈥� not just Native American communities. Individuals felt our name prevents us from building an inclusive relationship with the broader Cleveland community.鈥�
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