The Cleveland Indians have decided to change their team name, according to a Sunday evening report from the New York Times.
Curtis Danburg, senior director of communications for the Indians, had no comment when reached Sunday evening after the Times report was published.
The Times wrote that the team could announce its plans as soon as this week, based on conversations with three people who spoke to the newspaper on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
Cleveland's decision would follow the NFL team in Washington, D.C., which earlier this year stopped using a nickname long considered to be a racial slur.
In July, the Cleveland Indians released a statement saying that in light of recent social unrest, the team planned to engage the community and stakeholders to determine the best path forward with regard to the team name. In 2018 the team discontinued use of the mascot Chief Wahoo after decades of concerns it was a racist caricature. Some Native Americans have long felt the team’s name should change as well, regularly protesting outside the stadium downtown, including at the 2020 MLB season opener in Cleveland.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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