Baseball Hall of Fame makes final decision on controversial mascot
It’s been a tough year for Chief Wahoo.
The longtime logo for the Cleveland Indians has come under fire from some who say it’s racially insensitive to Native Americans.
Back in January, the team decided that in 2019, the logo will no longer be a part of its uniforms.
Now comes word that Chief Wahoo won’t be making the trip to Cooperstown.
Jim Thome spent parts of 13 seasons wearing the logo as a member of the Indians.
On Wednesday, about four months before the slugger’s induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, official word came down about the Indians cap Thome’s plaque will be displaying.
The Hall issued the following statement:
“When Jim Thome’s Hall of Fame plaque is unveiled in July, it will feature the ‘Block C’ logo as opposed to the ‘Chief Wahoo’ logo that the Cleveland Indians have displayed on team caps in many seasons since its introduction in 1947.
“In January, Major League Baseball announced that the Indians will remove the ‘Chief Wahoo’ logo from uniforms after the 2018 season, deeming it no longer appropriate for on-field use. As MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred explained, ‘Major League Baseball is committed to building a culture of diversity and inclusion throughout the game.’
“The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum concurs with the Commissioner’s sentiment and acknowledges the shifting societal view of Native American logos in baseball.”
The soon-to-be-extinct logo is elsewhere in the Hall of Fame, and that won’t change.
“Although examples of the ‘Chief Wahoo’ logo can be found in our Museum exhibits, and on Early Wynn’s 1972 Hall of Fame plaque,” the statement read, “the Hall of Fame will no longer use the logo in the creation of new plaques.”
Surprisingly, of the 14 Indians who are in the Hall, Wynn is the only one with the Wahoo logo.
For his part, Thome agrees with the Hall’s decision, saying in February, “My decision would be to wear the ‘C’ because I think it’s the right thing to do, and I fully support the way the Indians, through this week, have done the decision that they’ve done.
“To be thoughtful, I think I need to have a conversation with the Hall of Fame because of the history and everything involved. I just think that’s the right thing to do.”
Many Indians fans, however, disagreed with the Hall of Fame’s decision.
The chief is part of baseball history. It should be used to display the players who proudly wore it!
— Monstarr (@rancimo) March 21, 2018
https://twitter.com/MUCGrad/status/976568838471979008
Very disappointed in Cooperstown and the MLBHOF ….Thome wore Wahoo to get there, but he can't wear it there??? Our PC society has lost all touch with reality pic.twitter.com/mXNuGX2UFA
— Dion Bliss (@redhaw1) March 21, 2018
https://twitter.com/Maximus26273853/status/976605098662072320
Thome will be inducted into the Hall on July 29, along with Vladimir Guerrero, Trevor Hoffman, Chipper Jones, Jack Morris and Alan Trammell.
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