Which Team Will Change Name Next: Indians, Chiefs, Braves?

In these current times where protests over racial inequalities and injustices are happening on all levels of society, professional sports has played a significant role in this cultural and legal transformation as athletes, leagues and teams publicly call for a change.

This long overdue movement of equality and justice has also taken a serious look at professional and collegiate sports teams with controversial names and mascots. In particular, a large number of eyes are now focusing on franchises with names that are offensive towards Native Americans.

Recently, no other pro team has faced more backlash than the NFL’s Washington football team. There’s been a longstanding protest against this football team for their nickname being a racial slur towards Native Americans. However, this protest has fallen on deaf ears for decades.

Fortunately, for those of us who have beat the drum of this racial slur, the movement toward racial justice and equality has forced Washington’s football team to change their name. This is certainly a win for Native Americans and others who believed that the name needed to go.

With that said, online betting sites have released a prop bet asking which popular sports team will change their name next. Let’s take a look at the options and see if we can predict which one will be next.

Betting Odds on Next Team to Change Their Name

• Cleveland Indians (-150)
• Florida State Seminoles (+500)
• Kansas City Chiefs (+500)
• Atlanta Braves (+600)
• Chicago Blackhawks (+1000)

It’s interesting to note that these are the only teams considered for this prop bet. Yet, there are thousands of teams from high school up to professional sports that have Native American team names and mascots.

Without taking a generalized approach to these options, let’s look at each one on a team by team basis.

Cleveland Indians (-150)

In 1914-15, Cleveland’s owner Charles Somers requested for baseball writers to choose a new name for the baseball team as their star player Nap Lajoie left following the 1914 season. At the time, the team was called the Cleveland Naps.

Initially, the team name “Indians” created some controversy with those saying that the name honored Native Americans while others claimed that the name was offensive. Over the last decade, the myth and argument that the “Indians” name was an honor toward Native Americans has been clearly debunked.

Additionally, looking back at newspaper accounts of the name change, you can clearly see the racial perspective that society and this baseball team had towards Native Americans. It was one of racism, sarcasm and very little honor or integrity.

• In the 1970s, Native Americans began protesting not only the baseball team name, but the Chief Wahoo mascot as well. This logo was created in 1947 and was clearly a terrible cartoon caricature of Native Americans that was offensive on every level.
• By 2014, the protests against Chief Wahoo intensified. Over the next few years, the pressure to get rid of this mascot and logo grew to the point where in 2019 the team finally agreed to drop the logo and mascot. Instead, the team now rocks a block “C” letter as their logo.
• Now, in 2020, the Cleveland MLB team is on the cusp of being forced to change their name due to the volume of protests during today’s political climate. It’s taken over a century for this franchise to realize the offensiveness of their team name and logo, but the process for change is happening slowly.

The team’s owner has come out and stated they will thoroughly examine the best path toward change. However, in the meantime, manager Terry Francona and star player Francisco Lindor have both come out and publicly stated the team needs to change the name.

The following names have been suggested and can even be found with betting odds at various baseball betting sites:

• Naps (+150)
• Spiders (+200)
• Guardians (+300)
• Wild Things (+500)
• Buckeyes (+600)
• Rocks (+750)

We’ve already seen why the team was called the Naps, but it should also be noted that the team was once called the Spiders in the late 1800s. But that’s not all, Cleveland also had the names: Exiles, Castoffs, Misfit, Molly McGuires, Broncos, Bluebirds, Lake Shores, Infants and a few others.

The suggestion of Wild Things is a humorous, yet cool one because it’s a reference to Charlie Sheen’s character Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn in the hit 1989 film Major League. And, yes, the Cleveland baseball team was the baseball squad featured in this movie.

Naps could be a fun nickname that fans get behind. However, spiders could be something cool for logos and merchandising as it’s a throwback to the team’s early years.

Florida State Seminoles (+500)

Florida State is named after a prominent tribe in that region known as the Seminoles. However, this name is different than others like in Cleveland, Washington and Atlanta.

In fact, Elizabeth Hirst, FSU’s chief of staff and a liaison to the Seminole Tribe, really does a good job distinguishing the difference between the school’s name and other sports teams using Native American names:

“Florida State University’s official use of the Seminole name is different from other names in that it does not perpetuate offensive racial stereotypes nor is it meant to diminish or trivialize any Native American or indigenous peoples. Instead, it is used with explicit tribal permission and involvement to honor and promote the Seminole Tribe of Florida’s unconquered history and spirit that persists to this day.”

Furthermore, the Seminole Tribe has an agreement with the school’s usage of their name and is actively involved in collaborating on usage of their name, logo and related aspects.

This isn’t a case where an entity is using a Native American name, racial slur, or denigrating caricature. Instead, this is a partnership where two parties are in full agreement. In other words, there’s no need for a name change.

Kansas City Chiefs (+500)

In KC, we have a name that isn’t rooted in Native American history other than what foreigners called tribal leaders. It wasn’t like Native Americans were going around calling each other chief. In fact, the origin of the word “chief” dates back to Europe in the 1300s.

Without going into great detail over who said what and when, it’s safe to assume that this term was commonly used in the 1800s when Europeans in modern day Canada and United States were dealing with and talking about tribal leaders.

With that in mind, the origin of the Chiefs name is said to be tied to former Kansas City mayor H. Roe Bartle who helped lead the charge to get the football team to move to his city.

Bartle was affectionately known as “the chief” after many years in the military and lengthy work with the Boy Scouts of America. At 6’3, and over 300 pounds, Bartle was seen as a larger than life figure who left a longstanding legacy in the city.

In my opinion, I believe the team’s name will stand as it has less to do with Native Americans than other teams. Yet, the one thing that could change is all of the Native American stereotypes that surrounds the franchise.

The tomahawk chop, war paint, Native American costumes, war chants and beating of a drum are all stereotypes that will need to be examined as it is considered offensive to some.

In fact, a study done by researchers from U-M and Cal Berkeley found that 65% of Native Americans polled found the tomahawk chant to be offensive. Yet, the offensive acts weren’t limited to chants, but also face paint, Native American costumes, and dances by fans.

I believe the name Chiefs and Arrowhead Stadium will survive any protests or call for change, but I do see the team being told to stop encouraging Native American stereotypes. This shouldn’t come as a surprise as the team tried to stop the tomahawk chant in the 90s.

Kansas City won’t suffer the same fate as Cleveland and Washington, but changes to their Native American stereotypes will be coming in the near future.

Atlanta Braves (+600)

Unlike with Washington and Cleveland, the Atlanta Braves have come out and said they will not change their name. Ownership shared the following comments on why they will keep their name:

“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.”

The organization has working partnerships with various tribes in order to understand how their name and various stereotypes affect Native Americans. It’s this coalition that’s being referred to in the comments above.

Like with the term “chief”, the term “braves” does not have origin in Native American history. It was used as a term, adjective or label for Native Americans by outsiders, anthropologists, historians and others.

I can see how Atlanta’s MLB team will make this case when facing public backlash and pressure. However, like with the Chiefs, I don’t see the name being changed. It’s not offensive in nature.

With that said, the tomahawk chants and other Native American stereotypes will have to be addressed just like in Kansas City and in Tallahassee with the Florida State Seminoles. As of now, Atlanta isn’t in any rush to end some of these expressions especially the chant.

Chicago Blackhawks (+1000)

Like in Atlanta, the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks have released a statement saying that they will not change their team name:

“The Chicago Blackhawks’ name and logo symbolizes an important and historic person, Black Hawk of Illinois’ Sac & Fox Nation, whose leadership and life has inspired generations of Native Americans, veterans and the public.”

The team joined the NHL in 1926 and apparently got the name “Black Hawks” from owner Frederic McLaughlin who was a commander in the Military of the 333rd Machine Gun Battalion of the 86th Infantry Division. This division had the nickname the “Blackhawk Division” after Chief Blackhawk, according to team’s website.

Chief Black Hawk was born around 1767 and lived until 1838.  He was well known and highly respected for his military prowess including his participation in the War of 1812 when he fought alongside the British against the U.S.

20 years later, he led a conflict against the U.S. in 1832 after issues rose over Black Hawk’s entrance into the state of Illinois. There are various theories on why he did this, but the end result was a conflict between the two sides that led to bloodshed and the loss of many lives.

The Black Hawk war also gave Abraham Lincoln his only military experience, although he didn’t see combat. Black Hawk and other tribal leaders escaped the bloody battles, but later turned themselves in.

Black Hawk was imprisoned and taken east. In 1833, Black Hawk shared his story and it ended up being turned into the first ever Native American autobiography published in the U.S. He was released and died a few years later in Iowa in his 70s.

His legacy became an inspiration to other tribes, military personnel and students of Native American history like myself. His name can be mentioned with great tribal leaders like Tecumseh, Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, Pontiac, Chief Joseph, Captain Jack, Geronimo and others who took on insurmountable odds in effort to survive.

I don’t see the Chicago NHL team changing their name, but I do see a need for the logo to change. The picture of a Native American head is more of a caricature than an actual representation of Black Hawk. It’s been around since the late-50’s and is severely outdated.

Which Team Will Change Their Name Next?

Without a doubt, it will be the Cleveland MLB team that changes its name next. The history of the team name and logo are too much to ignore any longer. The Chief Wahoo logo and the early press coverage of the name change are proof that this franchise wasn’t trying to honor Native Americans.

With that said, all of these franchises will need to have healthy discussions about their teams’ names, Furthermore, all associated Native American stereotypes will need to be addressed.