This is not a new discussion

The Atlanta Braves should change their name. I am a lifelong fan; I grew up in Marietta and fell in love with the Braves during their run of division titles in the ’90s. Since leaving for the Air Force in the mid-’00s, I have continued to follow the Braves through multiple moves and deployments and would go to games whenever I was in the same city. The Braves taught me (repeatedly) how to deal with heartbreak, and I was excited to take my 2-year-old daughter to a game this summer before COVID struck.

I recently came around to changing the name of the team. I am a graduate of a high school named after a Confederate general, went to several laser light shows at Stone Mountain and was friends with people who displayed the Confederate flag openly. I did not think the Braves name was a big deal, and I happily did the Tomahawk Chop whenever I went to a game. But the Black Lives Matter protest has changed my mind on what is appropriate and shown me as a white guy from the suburbs that just because I do not find something offensive does not mean that others share my view. So let’s use this national moment as a reset. We can rename the team to something we can all celebrate with no shame. Atlanta has a long, proud history; let us leverage it and create new rituals under a new name. Creating new traditions is achievable. While living in Las Vegas, I watched the city rally around a team with no history (the Vegas Golden Knights of the NHL) and create new traditions on the fly, none of which were culturally insensitive. You do not even have to look outside the perimeter; the Atlanta United soccer team offers the Braves a blueprint future.

Finally, I hear but disagree with the political argument against the change. Some see this as bending to the protesters’ agenda and a slippery slope to major societal changes. You can disagree with some of the protesters’ messages or their methods, but they are right on this issue. The concern about the Braves’ name and logo and the chop long predates the recent protest movement. This same discussion occurred during the 1995 World Series and last year during the playoffs. Much like the discussion about changing the name of Army bases named after Confederate generals, the best time to change was years ago; the second-best time is now.