The pressure on Chief Wahoo continues to mount. Cleveland’s appearance in the 2016 World Series had a small bit of a mar on it when the team chose to wear their alternate uniforms which featured caps and sleeves that prominently featured the now-infamous Chief Wahoo logo on them. During the offseason, baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred reportedly met with Cleveland ownership in order to discuss the usage of the logo going forward. Now that the 2017 season has arrived, the Commissioner has reportedly made it clear that he wants Cleveland to drop the logo.
The New York Times shared a statement from an MLB spokesman that made it very clear where the Commissioner stands on this issue:
Among those who think it is time for the club to decisively move away from the logo is the Major League Baseball commissioner, Rob Manfred, who in continuing discussions with the team’s ownership is beginning to apply a little bit of pressure on the club to come up with a plan of action.
In a statement to The New York Times, Pat Courtney, a spokesman for Major League Baseball, said Manfred, in his talks with the Indians’ owners, had made clear his “desire to transition away from the Chief Wahoo logo.’’
“We have specific steps in an identified process and are making progress,’’ Courtney added. “We are confident that a positive resolution will be reached that will be good for the game and the club.’’
The article notes that even though Manfred is starting to put pressure on Cleveland to drop Wahoo, the team has already been slowly phasing the logo out of prominence. Cleveland’s been emphasizing the Block “C” logo as their primary mark for a few years now, and the article also noted that Chief Wahoo was nowhere to be found on the field or on stadium signage for their home opener on Tuesday.
However, the team still wears their alternate uniforms with Chief Wahoo on the caps and sleeves on a very regular basis, and there are still a decent amount of fans who see the Wahoo logo and think that there’s nothing wrong with it. The logo may be de-emphasized in Cleveland’s identity, but there’s still plenty of life left in the logo.
With that being said, it appears that we’re getting closer and closer to seeing Cleveland eventually drop the logo. The Commissioner himself is starting to put pressure on the team to drop Wahoo entirely, and when someone with that much clout in the game is against something like this, you can probably bet that Wahoo is probably not going to be around much longer.
What do you all think, though? Now that Rob Manfred has taken a stand on the issue, do you think that this will cause Cleveland to get rid of Wahoo entirely? Or will they continue to keep the logo under continuous pressure to drop it?
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