Indians announce ban on fans who wear headdresses

While mov- CLEVELAND — ing forward with a plan to change their name, the Cleve- land Indians said they will not permit fans inside Progressive Field wearing Native American headdresses or face paint.

The team announced the fan dress policy for the 2021 season on Wednesday in advance of Monday’s home opener against Detroit.

The team’s new policy states fans can be ejected or denied entrance for disorderly, unruly or disrup- tive conduct that includes “headdresses and face paint styled in a way that references or appropriates Amer- ican Indian cultures and traditions. Inappropriate or offensive images, words, dress or face paint must be covered or removed, and failure to do so may constitute grounds for ejection or refusal of admission.”

The Kansas City Chiefs announced a similar ban of headdresses at Arrowhead Stadium last year.

Cleveland fans will still be allowed to wear caps and clothing featuring Chief Wahoo, t he team’s contentious mascot. The team removed the smiling, redfaced Wahoo caricature from its game jerseys and caps two years ago but still sells merchandise with its image.

Umpire loses race discrimination lawsuit against MLB

Umpire Angel Hernandez lost his lawsuit against Major League Baseball alleging racial discrimination.

The Cuba-born Hernandez sued in 2017 in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati, a case later moved to New York. Hired as a big league umpire in 1993, he alleged he was discriminated against because he had not been assigned to the World Series since 2005 and had been passed over for crew chief. Hernandez was made an interim crew chief last July at the start of the pandemic-delayed shortened season after adozen umps decided to sit out.

“The court concludes that no reasonable juror could find that MLB’s stated explanation is a pretext for discriminatory motive,” U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken wrote Wednesday in granting MLB’s motion for a summary judgment.