Cleveland Indians To Remove Chief Wahoo As Logo

CLEVELAND, OH — Starting in 2019, the Cleveland Indians will drop the Chief Wahoo logo, Major League Baseball announced this week. The controversial but iconic logo has been with the team since 1947. The logo has been at the center of Native American protests at Tribe games.

The simple block "C" logo will replace Wahoo, the Associated Press reports. The team will still wear the Wahoo logo on their sleeves and sell merchandise with Wahoo on it, until 2019.

"Major League Baseball is committed to building a culture of diversity and inclusion throughout the game," MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement to the AP. "Over the past year, we encouraged dialogue with the Indians organization about the club's use of the Chief Wahoo logo. During our constructive conversations, Paul Dolan made clear that there are fans who have a longstanding attachment to the logo and its place in the history of the team."

The Indians' 2016 World Series run may have sped up the shelving of Wahoo, the AP said. The team's presence in a highly-rated, nationally seen Fall Classic irked Manfred, who decided the team should eradicate the logo moving forward.

During the 2016 season, there was even a lawsuit filed in Canada to ban references to Chief Wahoo on Canadian television.

As Clevelanders are well aware, each year a group of Native Americans protests the Indians' home opener and the use of the Chief Wahoo logo. Those groups would also like to see the team change their name to something other than Indians.

The Washington Redskins, of the NFL, have come under similar fire for their team name and logo, which have been deemed racist by some. A Native American group has been lobbying for the team to change its name to the Washington Redhawks.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Photo from Rick Uldricks, Patch