Cleveland’s baseball team changing name from Indians to Guardians

CLEVELAND (NewsNation Now) — Cleveland’s Major League baseball team is changing its name from the Indians to the Guardians.

The ballclub announced the name change Friday in a Twitter video narrated by actor Tom Hanks, ending months of internal discussions triggered by a national reckoning to permanently drop logos and names considered racist.

Together, we are all… pic.twitter.com/R5FnT4kv1I
— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) July 23, 2021

Cleveland’s move away from Indians follows a similar decision last year by the NFL’s Washington Football Team, which was previously known as the Redskins.

The organization spent most of the past year whittling down a list of potential names that was at nearly 1,200 just over a month ago.

Team owner Paul Dolan said last summer’s social unrest, touched off by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, spurred his intention to change the ballclub’s name. News that the team was planning on changing the name broke in December.

In 2018, the Indians stopped wearing the contentious Chief Wahoo logo on their jerseys and caps. However, the team continues to sell merchandise bearing the smiling, red-faced caricature that was protested for decades by Native American groups.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.