Opinion: It's time for the Cleveland and Atlanta baseball clubs to change their team nicknames

Well, while we’re still counting those ballots, there’s no reason we can’t demand immediate change.

We’re talking about the great states of Georgia and Ohio.

It’s past the time for Cleveland’s baseball team to finally announce that they will no longer be called the “Indians.’’

And once Cleveland makes the change, it’s Atlanta's turn to change the "Braves" nickname.

“I think it’s an exciting opportunity to be on the right side of history,’’ Natalie Welch, a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and professor at Linfield University in McMinnville, Oregon, told USA TODAY Sports. “Our society right now is so polarized, so binary. I want people to understand we can be sports fans and want changes too.’’

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The Paul Dolan ownership team in Cleveland vowed in July that it will strongly consider a name change. Five months later, they group is still in the “listening and learning’’ phase, according to a Cleveland spokesman, but it seems inevitable that change is coming, just as it did for Washington’s NFL team.

“I am invested in engaging our community and appropriate stakeholders to help determine the best path forward with regard to our team name,’’ Dolan said in his July statement. “In the coming weeks, we will engage Native American leaders to better understand their perspectives, meet with local civic leaders, and continue to listen to the perceptions of our players, fans, partners and employees. We feel a real sense of urgency to discuss these perspectives with key stakeholders while also taking the time needed to ensure those conversations are inclusive and meaningful.’’

The name change could have happened already, but Cleveland’s ownership insists it wants to come up with a new name at the same time, and not simply call themselves, “The Cleveland Baseball Team.’’

In Atlanta, it’s more complicated.

There was not a single time during the regular season or the postseason that the stadium scoreboard played the “Tomahawk chant’’ during games. They wouldn’t prohibit fans from doing it on their own, but weren’t encouraging it.

Yet, unlike in Cleveland, there has been no movement about a potential name change in Atlanta. A group of fans led by Chris and Marty Buccafusco are trying to push Atlanta to change its name to the Bravest in honor of firefighters, but have not yet met with club officials, while the team continues to stand by its July statement.

“We have had an active and supportive relationship with the Native American community for many years,’’ the statement said. “Last fall, we furthered this relationship and pledged to meet and listen to Native American and tribal leaders from many areas, including the Eastern Band of the Cherokees (EBCI) in North Carolina.  As a result, we formed a cultural working relationship with the EBCI and have also formed a Native American Working Group with a diverse collection of other tribal leaders to collaborate on matters related to culture, education, outreach, and recognition on an on-going basis.

"Through our conversations, changing the name of the Braves is not under consideration or deemed necessary.  We have great respect and reverence for our name and the Native American communities that have held meaningful relationships with us do as well. We will always be the Atlanta Braves."

Welch said the team's position is disappointing, and that "Braves" is just as offensive as the Washington Football Team's former nickname. The only difference being sponsors are not threatening to pull of deals with the team as they were with Washington. 

“When a team comes out and says we are working with native American groups,’’ Welch said, “it’s like, 'OK, who are you working with?’ There’s a lack of transparency. You can say you’re working with my tribe, but that doesn’t mean you’re talking to everybody in my tribe, or talking to the entire leadership. The tribes in the southeast are very different from the northwest. Atlanta’s name may be OK for one tribe, but not another.

“There’s not even a consensus from our own tribe about this. When they speak about having support from a tribe, it doesn’t mean it’s a unanimous support. I have the utmost respect for my tribe and the others having sovereignty of those relationships, but I do think it’s used as a shield as teams, saying, 'We have this group saying its OK, that should be enough.’

“That’s a cop out.’’

Yep, just like Washington owner Daniel Snyder kept reiterating when he resisted a name change, saying he also had support from the Native American community, only to finally be forced into change.

“It’s not just the name, it’s everything that goes along with the name,’’ Welch said. “The imagery, the symbols. We forget how popular those images are. The tomahawk is such a stereotypical thing. It conjures this warrior, this savage image of Native American people, as if they’re animals. It’s really dehumanizing.

“I’ve seen a lot of really, brutally offensive things done by fans. It’s not only harmful to Native Americans, but society overall.’’

The Buccafuscos, brothers who have been lifelong fans of Atlanta’s baseball club, said that renaming the team to the Bravest would immediately end the racist imagery, and honor a group that everyone can celebrate, the nation’s firefighters. They launched a website BravestATL.com, selling T-shirts and merchandise, with proceeds being donated to Atlanta’s firefighters and their families.

“You look at this team, and it could be the beginning of another dynasty,’’ Marty Buccafusco said. “So what better way to start a new dynasty than with a new name. You look at what professional sports have done with their national campaigns and sending messages towards social justice and civil responsibility, and for this team to go to the NLCS with a derogatory name. It sends the wrong message.

“We know that money is a driver in a lot of these discussions. Well, the Braves have a chance to make it bigger than that, to unify the fan base instead of having a negative effect. I’m a traditionalist. I love this team. I’m obsessed with the team.

“You don’t have to burn all of your stuff, but people want social change. And they will support changes. If it’s Bravest, great. That’s the term used for firefighters. They’re heroes. This city has a history of being rebuilt from fires.

“If it’s something else, fine. We just need a name change. It’s time.’’

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