The domino effect is underway. Now that politicians seemingly have the upper hand in dealing with the Washington Redskins in regards to changing their name, there's now a call for the Cleveland Indians to surrender their name and mascot.
Eric Kearney (D) from Cincinnati represents Ohio's 9th district in the state senate. On Wednesday he introduced a resolution on the floor of the Ohio State Senate that encourages the Cleveland Indians to adopt a new team name and mascot because of 'racial insensitivity.' The ongoing feud and rally behind changing the Washington Redskins name is likely incited the introduction of Kearney's SCR 42.
"Over the years we've seen a number of sports teams, colleges, universities and organizations including Miami University of Ohio change their nickname due to the concerns of Native Americans and the perpetuation of stereotypes," said Senator Kearney in this government news release. "The continuing use of the Indians nickname and a stereotypical Native American caricature, such as Chief Wahoo, is an affront to Native Americans."
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office canceled the Washington Redskins' team trademarks, citing the name to be 'disparaging to Native Americans.' This was the biggest pressure to date to convince owner Daniel Snyder to change the team's name, but he's still holding firm on the basis of 'tradition.' The Indians aren't facing such mounting pressure, but it could get to that point.
Senator Kearney isn't the first public figure or person in general to address the issue. The American Psychological Association began its campaign in 2005 to encourage the "immediate retirement of all American Indian mascots, symbols, images and personalities by schools, colleges, universities, athletic teams and organizations," as stated in this APA news release. Earlier this year, a Cleveland Plain Dealer editorial called for the Indians' retirement of their Chief Wahoo mascot and City Councilman Zach Reed called for the ban of its display on public property.
Whatever the case, the Cleveland Indians now may be at the forefront of the movement to ban all team and school names that are considered derogatory toward Native Americans.
You can read more about Eric Kearney's resolution in this ESPN article.
