Now that the NFL’s Washington Redskins have retired their contentious nickname and logo after decades of objection and amid a nationwide movement calling for racial justice, the Cleveland baseball team appears to be the next major sports franchise that might assume a new identity.
Along with Cleveland, which recently announced it is in the early stages of evaluating a name change for the first time in 105 years, baseball’s Atlanta Braves, the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks and the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs are among those facing backlash along with the potential of sponsors pulling their financial support.