CLEVELAND – Manager Terry Francona praised the Cleveland Indians for trying to “do the right thing” with an inevitable name change – and a necessary one.
On Friday, Francona praised the team’s decision to eliminate its name after 105 years, a change that comes after months of internal discussions and meetings with numerous groups and which will represent a new beginning for the American League team.
“I’m proud to do something right,” Francona said in an interview with Zoom in her Arizona home.
The team unveiled its decision Monday, ending a lawsuit that began just before team owner Paul Dolan announced it in July – hours after the NFL team in Washington removed its controversial nickname – and said the team The Major League would do a thorough review of their name.
Dolan told the Associated Press in an interview that the team will continue to be named Indians for at least the 2021 season and will not adopt a temporary name before choosing a new one. Dolan also told AP that the Tribe, the team’s popular nickname and the favorite of many fans as the new name, is not an option and the club is completely moving away from any Native American connotation.
However, this does not mean that the team will distance itself from its history.
“That’s not the idea behind this,” Francona said. “I’m just thinking, ‘Hey, I’ve always done that, so we’ll keep doing it.’ Wrong, if we did that, Jackie Robinson would never have played baseball.
“No one was trying to be disrespectful, but that is no longer a sufficient answer,” he added.