One of the most idiotic of the Left’s assumptions is that sports team nicknames are intended to insult and demean. My latest in FrontPage:
Many, many years ago, long before any of you who are reading this were born, and long, long before Major League Baseball went woke, pulled the All-Star Game out of Atlanta for not toeing the Left’s line, and made race-baiting Communist agitprop a permanent feature of its website, I learned about a man named Louis Sockalexis. Sockalexis, a great baseball name if there ever was one (later announcers would have loved to report about how he “socked” one into the stands), is largely forgotten today, although he has made a few headlines in the last few days because the Cleveland Indians, a team that bore that name in his honor, has now dishonored him by changing its nickname, so as not to insult Indians. Yes, friends, it’s a topsy-turvy world, and it isn’t getting any saner.
Have you heard of Louis Sockalexis? Some of our great-grandfathers marveled at his feats. He was a Penobscot Indian from Maine who became a major league player in 1897, hitting .338 in 66 games for the old National League Cleveland Spiders. He generated a great deal of fan enthusiasm, but indifferent to or unable to overcome stereotypes, he succumbed to alcoholism and had washed out of the major leagues by 1899. The Spiders amassed the eye-watering record of twenty wins and 134 losses that year, and went out of business right after the season’s end, opening up an opportunity in 1901 for the new American League. It was not until 1915, however, that Cleveland’s American League team began calling itself the Indians in honor of Sockalexis. He hadn’t played in the major leagues in a decade and a half, but was newly recalled to fans when he died an untimely death from tuberculosis in 1913. The Society for American Baseball Research notes that in January 1915, Cleveland team owner Charles Somers, “perhaps recalling the all-too-brief period of excitement that Louis Sockalexis had brought to Cleveland in 1897, dubbed his team the Indians.”
And so Indians they were for 106 years, but when the 2022 season starts (if major league baseball hasn’t succumbed entirely to wokeness by then and decided to dispense with actually playing the games and instead award wins and losses on the number of players of color minus the number of Trump supporters), the Cleveland baseball team will be calling itself the “Guardians,” after a couple of statues on a nearby highway bridge. The statues are known as the Guardians of Traffic. If Cleveland’s baseball solons were so determined to rename the team after traffic markers, given their abject capitulation to wokeness, they should have gone with the Cleveland Yield Signs.
In any case, so much for Louis Sockalexis: he goes the way of Uncle Ben, Aunt Jemima, and any and all non-white mascots and trademarks. But it is just another manifestation of our Age of Absurdity that anyone would think that team nicknames were designed to demean and insult, instead of honor, the person or thing from which the name is derived. Does Cleveland’s baseball team hate Cleveland’s Guardians of Traffic that have now replaced Sockalexis? Of course not. And the idea that they do is just as absurd as the claim that the old name degraded Native Americans.
Yet the claim is, of course, commonplace. Crystal Echo Hawk, executive director of a group called IllumiNative, which claims to be dedicated to fighting misrepresentations of Native Americans, hailed the name change: “It is a major step toward righting the wrongs committed against Native peoples and is one step toward justice.”
Can all this get any more absurd? Now the “Cleveland Indians” name was a major wrong and injustice against Native Americans? It’s too bad Louis Sockalexis isn’t around to take Crystal Echo Hawk aside and gently discuss her First-World Problems with her. But he isn’t, and now it is abundantly established and taken for granted on the Left that to have a sports team named after you is the ultimate insult. Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans take note: apparently your nicknames mean you hate bears, lions, and residents of the Lone Star State. Get on that, and fast. The only acceptable nicknames now are those derived from groups that our woke masters have decided are perfectly all right to hate: the Cleveland Trumpers. The New York America-Firsters. The San Francisco Cis-Het White Males. And so on. After all, if we’re going to be so insulting as to name a team after a group, then let’s go for the worst insults of all.
mike says
we will wipe put any history period
Next MLK
Bikinis not Burkas says
MLK was a Muslim lover, watch his famous speech with all the members of the Muslim Brotherhood behind him!
Terry Gain says
MLK was also a Republican. Your demand for purity is insane. Would you rather MLK be replaced by George Floyd?
mortimer says
MLK practiced a generous type of universal respect called ‘Christian love’. He loved all of mankind and asked his followers to do so, even when someone was not likeable. He viewed the Black Muslims as his political allies and I doubt he knew a lot about them except that they were competition in religion. The Black Muslims of Farrakhan are heretical Muslims.
Wellington says
Best proposed name for the now woke (and former) Cleveland Indians—the Cleveland Chickens.
Wokeness and all the PC crap are entirely stupid inventions of the Left, which is slowly ruining America and the West in general.
I despise Islam. I also despise the Left. Two of a kind respecting an assault on such good things as freedom, common sense and true tolerance.
gravenimage says
Yep.
Kepha says
I think “turkeys” would be better. Domestic turkeys are so dumb they have to have the farmer bring them into the barn to get them out of bad weather. Or, perhaps Sheep. Something that will run over a cliff due to the influence of those around them.
gravenimage says
Cleveland’s Baseball Team Dishonors the Indian It Was Named For
……………
Goodbye, Louis Sockalexis–we hardly knew ye…
All too spot on. I was an avid major-league baseball fan until just recently; now it is too depressing. This will probably trickle down to the minors and independent leagues any moment now.
Wellington says
The Left has ruined sports, gravenimage. The Left ruins everything—even pronouns, gender and bathrooms. Orwell himself would have been hard pressed to come up with the rot which the Left now spews daily.
Either the sensible portion of America, which is easily still the majority, if not the large majority, says no more to this nonsense or else all will be gone—including liberty.
gravenimage says
Sadly true.
“One-third of Americans watching fewer sports due to racial justice messaging”
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/one-third-americans-watching-fewer-234300070.html#:~:text=According%20to%20a%20new%20YouGov,of%20messages%20shared%20by%20athletes.
Calling this “racial justice messaging” is absurd–but the numbers do not lie. Somehow I doubt this will make much of a difference to the “woke”, though.
Dan says
The irony of it all, is ALL the sports teams who used Indian names and mascots, did so because Indians were RENOWNED for their ferocity in battle, their willingness to fight against seemingly insurmountable odds.
In sports, those USED to be called, “The greatest comebacks of all time.”
Sadly, with this “Mercy Rule” in kids sports now, they’re never going to learn how to dig deep, and they’re NEVER going to learn the GLORY derived from “Snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.”
Rarely says
Against the “Mercy Rule” in kids’ sports? That’s a new one. I suppose you advocate “No loss is too great. No humiliation too complete”.
Some people believe that winning isn’t everything but that good sportsmanship might be a touch higher on the morality scale.
gravenimage says
Rarely, if people can no longer handle losing in peaceful sporting events, perhaps they should be banned all together–after all, not winning makes snowflakes feel bad…sarc/off
Personally, I think an honest loss is far less humiliating than having the game stopped because an athlete or team is excelling. (And please note that I say this as someone who was never particularly good at most sports).
Besides, anyone who has played or even watched sports knows that some of the most exciting games involve unexpected comebacks–something that cannot happen if games are shut down early if one team starts winning by what someone decides is “too large” a margin.
Rarely says
I’m referring to children. The “Mercy Rule” comes into play when a team is so clearly outmatched that there is no point in continuing. A terribly one-sided score is the measurement..
gravenimage says
Participation trophies for all!
Rarely says
Trophies for all? Why not if they’re 6 years old? Ever see a 6 or 7 year old’s soccer game? It’s a hoot. Some are still toe punting when they’re 8 or 9 but they’re having a great time. However all too often the parents on the sidelines are going crazy.
gravenimage says
Yes, I’ve seen soccer games between very young children (these are often featured during halftime during minor-league soccer games). A lot of fun.
gregbeetham says
I think they lost the opportunity to grab a NOW name before some other team did, the Cleveland WOKIES YEAH! Oh well some other team will for sure. What about the Atlanta Braves? Their supporters in the stand could toss their little plastic tomahawks in the bin and take the knee instead in solidarity with whatever.
Infidel says
One question I have for the woke crowd: which Indians are supposed to be offended by this Cleveland team’s name? The feather Indians or the dot Indians?? (And dear Wokist, I can get away w/ this joke since I belong to one of the above 2 ethnic groups ?)
On a different note, anyone following the Olympics? During the Cold War, we’d have a close race w/ the Soviets. Right now, we are third, behind China and Japan. The thing I don’t get is that people who hate this country – why do they bother representing it in the Olympics? I’ll continue to root for the patriots in the squad, but I’m glad Megan Rapinoe’s gang has so far gone winless, and I hope they get knocked out early, so that they don’t get to insult the country in the faceoff over the medals
James Lincoln says
Infidel,
This is the very first year that I have not watched the Olympics.
Too erroneously “woke”, I just can’t stand it,,,
Infidel says
Naomi Osaka could have been a great symbol for this Olympics, representing some sort of a bridge b/w the US and Japan. Instead, she had to virtue-signal in support of BLM, and then crash and burn
Do other athletes loathe their countries the way ours – some at least – seem to loathe ours?
JimJFox says
Not Australia! One of the girl gold medal swimmers got a bit excited and answered a question with typical Aussie aplomb-
“F**k Yeah!!”
What a star! Totally unwoke.
gravenimage says
Good to hear, Jim.
Donovan Nuera says
The Cleveland STEAMERS would be the most appropriate name.
Of course, it reminds of the “Hastily-made Cleveland tourist videos” #1 and #2….. very depressing. (“We’re not Detroit!”)
Rotten Eye says
You must destroy and denigrate a nation’s history before you can replace a nation’s history.
Replace a nation’s history with the history that the replacers want to replace the history with.
Giacomo Latta says
Yet calling them the Cleveland Whites would have gotten a more negative reaction than the name Cleveland Indians. And the name of the team representing the most black section of Chicago is called the White Sox. Is that respecting the colour of the majority of its residents? Colour me totally confused.
James Lincoln says
Cleveland “ChiComs”…
Infidel says
ChiComs should go to San Francisco’s team, in honor of Diane Feinstein and Eric Swalwell
James Lincoln says
Agreed, Infidel.
That would be most appropriate…
Rarely says
I suppose that if it’s appropriate to honour a player by naming his team after his race the San Francisco Dodgers should consider renaming their team the “Negroes” to honour Jackie Robinson who is certainly worthy of major league (pun intended) recognition.
It’s all kinda much ado about nothing.
gravenimage says
San Francisco Dodgers?
Rarely says
Oops. LA Dodgers. My bad.
gravenimage says
No problem, Rarely–at least we still have trolleys to dodge! 🙂
Halaku says
If it can’t be Cleveland Indians, shouldn’t it have been Cleveland Cowboys? Or, may be that’s what Guardians means – guardians of the cattle (wink wink).
Rarely says
Calling them “Cowboys” may give the Cowgirls the blues.
gravenimage says
“Cowboy”–unless it is a specific reference to black cowboys–is itself considered “racist” these days.
Infidel says
Not to mention… how dare you assume the gender of either ‘cow’ or ‘boy’ part of the cowboy. Speaking of which, do cows also have 64 genders, or are they too busy releasing all that methane into the atmosphere to bother?
gravenimage says
🙂
Rarely says
As a lesbian trapped in a male body, I take offence.
gravenimage says
🙂
Rob R (Brit stuck in Britainistan) says
Remember how having a black president was supposed to “solve all our racial problems” LOL
Who was stupid enough to believe that having Obama would stop the “left” from their only hobby and pursuit in life, shouting “racist”….
Rarely says
It’s not wrong to shout “FIRE” when there is a fire — even in a crowded theater.
Rarely says
The sensitivities of a distinguishable group are defined by that group and not by what non-members believe should or should not be seen as derogatory by that group. Acknowledging those sensitivities and seeking to avoid overtly offending them does not make one a leftist, communist, Democrat or muslim apologist. The ancient wrongs perpetrated against Native Americans and Afro-Americans are not imaginary. They aren’t even very ancient and some are ongoing.
That there is a non-insignificant group that is taking the opportunity to piggyback onto these matters to promote their own perverse agendas doesn’t make these issues any less valid. There are real social justice issues to address and if it requires the renaming of some sport franchises it’s a little price to pay. Then the deficiencies of the BLM, movement and others like it can be exposed with some credulity and possibility of being heard.
I write this as a Canadian living in Canada. It is meant to apply to the situation in Canada even though I have used American terms in some places.
Infidel says
Those wrongs can be addressed w/o making them barge into every aspect of our life – movies, sports, commercials and so on. What this approach has done is make those causes toxic even to people who might otherwise be sympathetic to them
Not to mention that elsewhere in the world, this technique has been co-opted by muslims – the honorary BIPOCs – to put the victims of their jihads thru guilt trips, instead of undergoing them themselves
gravenimage says
+1
Rarely says
Perhaps those wrongs have found life in “movies, sports, commercials and so on.” Token acceptance of a racial group won’t cut the mustard any more — nor should it.
By treating noble causes as “toxic” because they seek wholesale changes and not just the little steps you approve you open the door for others to pick up the torch that you should and could have carried. I suspect you may not be as potentially sympathetic to them as you claim.
Renaming sports teams where the nickname is offensive to the group it depicts is a minor inconvenience and not a “foot in the door”. It doesn’t matter in the least that the name was given with the best of intentions. It was wrong in the first place to name the Cleveland team “Indians” to “honour” a player who was Indian. I suppose the “Redskins” were so named to honour snowbirds visiting Florida over the winter who got too much sun.
gravenimage says
It was wrong in the first place to name the Cleveland team “Indians” to “honour” a player who was Indian.
………………
How is this intrinsically wrong?
I patronize the Southwest Indian Foundation–is the name of this foundation–run by Native Americans–actually racist? How can they have gotten things so wrong?
Rarely says
GI.
The use of the word “Indian” is not intrinsically wrong (especially at that time) but rather how it was being used. When Native Americans refer to themselves as “Indians” that’s their business but when a non-Native American uses it that can be seen as insulting. The same applies to other ethnic/racial groups. For example, should the LA Dodgers be renamed the “Blacks” or “Negroes” to honour Jackie Robinson? It would clearly be offensive — even in 1947. What’s the difference? IF any ball player ever deserved recognition it was Robinson (in fact his number was retired throughout the League).
gravenimage says
Actually, Rarely, Jackie Robinson does indeed get a great deal of recognition–as he should. Not only is his number 42 generally retired, but on Jackie Robinson Day–April 15–every player in major league baseball wears number 42.
Many involved in this tribute are not African-American–but this does not mean that players wearing the number are doing so to insult Robinson’s memory, nor have I ever heard of anyone taking it that way.
gregbeetham says
If you want to manufacture imaginary insults then the term ‘Indian’ should be barred from being used by Indians too.
The term ‘Indian’ is an English language word which the original Indians wouldn’t have understood anyway as they didn’t speak English; which in turn means that the Indians of today have no right of use to an English language term, only those whose original language was English have that right.
See? Two can play that stupid game.
Infidel says
gregbeetham
Good point. Just like the Cleveland Indians, in cricket, in the IPL in India, Mumbai’s team is called the Mumbai Indians. Maybe they should be asked to change their name as well?
Rarely says
Sometimes it’s just a matter of politeness and being keyed in to a group’s sensitivities — especially when it costs you nothing. Just look at the 3-4 changes in how African Americans are to be referred to since the 1960s. No backlash that I have seen — a smooth transition.
gregbeetham says
Yes, I agree about the ‘sensitivities’ and that’s the elephant in the room governing the constant gauging if something crosses some arbitrary ill defined flexible line in a social environment devoid of a sense of humour or of giving anyone the benefit of the doubt.
I think the preservation of the ‘sensitivities’ is the factor that will continue to cause division for no worthwhile purpose.
And yes, I’m guilty of committing whiteness but no minority group was harmed in the process.
gravenimage says
I guess this means that if people are ignorant of the reason for a name, that this trumps everything–and should trump everything.
Of course, the Cleveland Indians *should* have trumpeted what they were named for, but that is a separate matter.
Right now, people are pulling down statues because they are “racist” and are all about celebrating slavery–including statues of Lincoln and Cervantes and Frederick Douglass–figures who opposed slavery and in several cases had themselves been enslaved.
But this must be OK–after all the vandals *feel* that these statues are offending their sensibilities, and surely that is all that matters…
Rarely says
Vandalism is never right and it must not be rewarded but punished.
gravenimage says
OK
DC Hess says
Maybe the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen. So far.
We always thought a better name would be the “Cleveland Walleyes”, for the Lake Erie game fish.
Gateway stadium could become “Bait-way” and the fan chant from the bleachers could be “GO FISH!!!”