Indians owner says name won’t change during 2021
CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cleveland Indians are changing their name — they just don’t know to what or when.
Expressing that “it’s time,” owner Paul Dolan said that after months of internal discussions and meetings with groups, including Native Americans who have sought to have the team stop using a moniker many deem racist, the American League franchise is dropping the name it has been known by since 1915.
In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press on Monday, Dolan said: “The name is no longer acceptable in our world.”
Dolan said the team will continue to be called Indians until a new name is chosen. That “multistage” process is in its early stages and the team will play — and be branded — as the Indians at least through next season.
“We’ll be the Indians in 2021 and then after that, it’s a difficult and complex process to identify a new name and do all the things you do around activating that name,” Dolan said. “We are going to work at as quick a pace as we can while doing it right.
“But we’re not going to do something just for the sake of doing it. We’re going to take the time we need to do it right.”
Dolan said the team will not adopt an interim name until choosing its new one.
“We don’t want to be the Cleveland Baseball Team or some other interim name,” he said, adding he hopes the new name “will hopefully take us through multiple centuries.”
Cleveland’s move follows a similar decision by the NFL’S Washington Football Team, previously known as the Redskins.
“It was a learning process for me and I think when fair-minded, open-minded people really look at it, think about it and maybe even spend some time studying it, I like to think they would come to the same conclusion: It’s a name that had its time, but this is not the time now, and certainly going forward, the name is no longer acceptable in our world,” Dolan said.
As Cleveland considers new names, Dolan said Tribe, the team’s popular nickname for decades, has been ruled out.
“We are not going to take a half-step away from the Indians,” said Dolan, acknowledging Tribe was an early choice. “The new name, and I do not know what it is, will not be a name that has Native American themes or connotations to it.”
The decision was welcomed by Native American groups that met with the club.
“The team made a genuine effort to listen and learn,” said Cynthia Connolly, executive board member of the Lake Erie Native American Council in the Cleveland Indigenous Coalition. “We hope this serves as a blueprint for other professional teams and the 200-plus high school teams in the Cleveland area. If there is a school or team that truly cares about fighting racism, these mascots cannot coexist.”
Cleveland’s announcement was praised by Washington NFL coach Ron Rivera, who said his perspective changed after reading “The Real All-americans,” a novel about a Native American football team.
Rivera said he received angry letters from Washington fans who were upset with the name change.
“But I’ve also gotten some notes from Native Americans that have said thank you for doing that and for respecting our wishes,” Rivera said. “The one thing I hope is that we don’t forget them. We don’t ignore them. We start paying attention to their plight and do right by them. They are Americans that do deserve the respect of us.”
Dolan knows there are plenty of Indians fans who disagree with the decision.
Christmas is coming close, and while major gifts have doubtless already been bought, there are still stocking stuffers and smaller presents for an out- doorsman/woman/ youngster that need to be bought.
Everyone knows that wives and mothers do most of that buying, and these busy shoppers too often know less than most about gifts for hard hunting, hard fishing, or hard trapping spouses or kids.
So, what can you buy them in these last days that they’ll truly appreciate and enjoy?
If that youngster is a serious or would-be fisherman, try making them a goody box or bag.
Several years ago I walked into a sporting goods store and simply started gathering.
I picked up hooks, sinkers, thin pencil floats, splitshot, swivels, and ice fishing spoons, along with a few spinners, crankbaits, fishing line in 10-pound test, longnosed pliers for removing hooks, and a nice little stringer for fish.
It didn’t cost much, but my nephew who’d received lots of sweaters, socks, new shirts, and other useful things kept coming back to that bag, and spent hours playing with its contents and arranging them in his tacklebox.
If the recipient is very young, you might try one of those combo rod and reel kits too, but not a piece of plastic junk that’ll fall apart in a few weeks.
Get something decent with line already on the closed face spool, and if the gift is for a husband or older angler, you might be ahead to buy a gift certificate, instead of serious tackle.
Older fishermen, like older hunters, know what they want and would rather buy it themselves.
Then there are the nice little odds and ends, again available in sporting goods shops and major department stores.
What about a nice Rapala filleting knife, a hand warmer or two, Gortex gloves, a warm hat with imitation fur or wool on the inside ear flaps?
If ice fishing is a favorite sport, some sturdy insulated boots would be a good choice, or long john type underwear, or a short ice fishing rod, and maybe some little ice spoons in various colors.
Books are always good, to while away long winter months, and you’d be astonished at how many are out there waiting.
Check Amazon or your local book store, and you’ll find literally hundreds of books on bass fishing, hunting deer, waterfowl, panfish, crappie, walleye, camping, hiking, the list goes on forever.
Good reading and useful information. A final thought here. You might be interested in a copy of my novel Flying Hawk, a tale of a small Indian native Americans who lived along the Sandusky River before the coming of the white man.
It’s filled will hunting and fishing, and a war with a larger tribe of Erie Indians.
For a stocking fillet, give thought to the latest issue of Field and Stream magazine. It just might be the best they’ve ever done, and is waiting at area book stores and newstands.
If he or she is handy with their hands, think about a kit of some sort.
There are fly tying kits, kits that will turn into muzzleloader rifles or pistols like I received one Christmas.
There are some for making spinners and fishing lures, more for casting bullets or sinkers, kits for building and coloring jigs and bottom bouncers.
Again, useful pursuits for those long winter days, and come spring, plenty of new gear for hunting and fishing.
You can get these from sporting goods stores or places like Cabela’s and L.L. Bean.
And don’t forget neat little items like walkie-talkies for conversation on hunting and fishing trips, dried foods like jerky and pemmican, sweat shirts that say ‘I’d Rather Be Fishing,’ compasses, knife sharpeners, small pocket-sized binoculars, and plenty more.
The time is short, but there’s enough to buy some great things, and lack of knowledge won’t matter much for useful items like those above.
Hooks & Bullets
— Ohio hunters checked 10,904 deer during a snowy and rainy opening day this year. That’s far below last years tally of 15,513 on opening day. Richland County hunt rs bagged 253 animals this day, Ashland 218, Crawford 98, and Huron 191.
— Ohio’s fall wild turkey season did about the same as in previous years, killing 1,063 toms and hens in the 70 counties hunted. Last year hunters bagged nearly the same amount, 1,078 birds
Ohio’s young hunters had only slightly worse luck during their two day gun season checking in 5,795 whitetails, down from last years count of 5,909.
Dick Martin is a retired biology teacher who has been writing outdoor columns for over 30 years. You can reach him at richmart@neo.rr.com.