CLEVELAND (AP) 鈥� Known as the Indians since 1915, Cleveland鈥檚 Major League Baseball team will be called Guardians.
The ballclub announced the name change Friday 鈥� effective at the end of the 2021 season 鈥� with a video on Twitter narrated by actor and team fan Tom Hanks. The decision ends months of internal discussions triggered by a national reckoning by institutions and teams to permanently drop logos and names considered racist.
The choice of Guardians will undoubtedly be criticized by many of the club鈥檚 die-hard fans.
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. But the process quickly accelerated and the club landed on Guardians.
Dolan said last summer鈥檚 social unrest, touched off by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, spurred his intention to change the name.
Dolan is expected to provide more details on the choice and background on the change at a news conference at Progressive Field before the Indians host the Tampa Bay Rays.
Dolan said the new name mirrors the city and its people.
鈥淐leveland has and always will be the most important part of our identity,鈥� he said in a statement. 鈥淭herefore, we wanted a name that strongly represents the pride, resiliency and loyalty of Clevelanders. 鈥楪uardians鈥� reflects those attributes that define us.鈥�
鈥淚t brings to life the pride Clevelanders take in our city and the way we fight together for all who choose to be part of the Cleveland baseball family. While 鈥業ndians鈥� will always be a part of our history, our new name will help unify our fans and city as we are all Cleveland Guardians.鈥�
Not far from the downtown ballpark, there are two large landmark stone edifices 鈥� referred to as guardians 鈥� on the Hope Memorial Bridge over the Cuyahoga River. Cleveland鈥檚 team colors will remain the same, and the new Guardians鈥� new logos will incorporate some of the architectural features of the bridge.
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 name change has sparked lively debate among the city鈥檚 passionate sports fans. Other names, including the Spiders, which is what the team was called before 1900, were pushed by supporters on social media platforms.
But Guardians does seem to fit the team鈥檚 objective to find a name that embodies Cleveland鈥檚 hard-working, loyal, Midwestern-valued ethos while preserving the team鈥檚 history and uniting the community.
Guardians is the fifth name in franchise history joining the Blues (1901), Bronchos (1902), Naps (1903-1914) and Indians (1915-2021).
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Tom Withers, The Associated Press
