Cleveland, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – For years Chief Wahoo has been a polarizing logo for the Indians and Major League Baseball – on both sides of the conversation.
Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred decided to put an end to it.
In an interview with Bull and Fox Monday afternoon on 92.3 The Fan, Manfred acknowledged that it was Major League Baseball and not Indians ownership that led the charge for the removal of Wahoo as the official primary logo for the franchise at the outset of the 2019 season.
“We were a driving, maybe is the right word, force in that decision,” Manfred said. “The Dolan family, the Indians, were cooperative in the process.
“I understand that people have a certain affinity with respect to the logo, but again, I think it’s one of those things where people’s reactions and sensitivities to issues change over time, and every once in a while, the game needs to change as well.”
As part of the agreement with Major League Baseball, the Indians retain trademark rights to the logo and will continue to sell limited merchandise featuring it.
The debate over Chief Wahoo reached a fever pitch when a Canadian organization sued Major League Baseball during the 2016 playoffs to prohibit it’s use on uniforms in Canada. Indians players voted throughout the 2016 postseason to wear the Wahoo caps over the ‘Block C’ design, which has replaced Wahoo as the primary mark for the club.
Although the team denied it at the time, the Indians had been slowly phasing out the use of Wahoo within Progressive Field over the course of the past few years during the renovation of the park.
Listen to the complete interview with Manfred in the podcast at the top of the article.
