Cleveland Indians just dropped their offensive name
(Picture: Photo courtesy of the Cleveland Indians/Twitter)After receiving backlash for their racially insensitive name, The Cleveland Indians decided to drop the name—but social media is unimpressed with the alternative.
On Friday, the Ohio baseball team posted a video (narrated by Tom Hanks) to their Twitter account that detailed their legacy as a baseball team, what they represent, and the name change—The Cleveland Guardians.
“We are a city of fire and water; of trees and towers built through generations of blue collars and the brightest scholars and all of those who have worked harder,” Hanks said in the voice-over as you see statues and aerial views of the city.
“We remember those moments as we move forward with change. You see, there’s always been Cleveland... And now it’s time to unite as one family, one community, to build the next era for this team and this city. To keep watch and guard what makes this game the greatest,” Hanks continued.
Additionally, the message in the video continued to make waves for expressing “unity” for everyone as they are “loyal and proud and resilient.
“We protect what we’ve earned and always defend it. Together we stand with all who understand what it means to be born and built from the land. Because this is the city we love and the game we believe in,” Hanks added before he said, “Together, we are all Cleveland Guardians.”
Together, we are all... pic.twitter.com/R5FnT4kv1I
— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) July 23, 2021
People in the video comments didn’t love the new name (although it’s still superior to the previous one, of course).
“Zero thought was put into this… what are the fans [supposed to chant?] Let's go, Guar-Di-Ans? Let's go, GUARDS?? You can’t just name a team after an object and call it a day,” someone wrote.
“That seals the deal. I am no longer a Guardians fan. This team is a pure and utter embarrassment to the city of Cleveland. I officially will not be renewing my plan next season, nor will I watch ever again,” another added.
Someone else was confused as to why a beloved actor like Tom Hanks would be the narrator, as they wrote the following: “Why have Tom Hanks narrate this? He spent three years living in Cleveland in the 1970s but is a born-and-raised Californian. Halle Berry, Kathryn Hahn, Patricia Heaton, Tom Jackson, Clark Kellogg, Trent Reznor, or Jim Thome weren’t available?”
A fourth commenter wrote underneath the tweet, “I know! Why would you get one of the most beloved stars in the world to narrate this? Unbelievable…”
Check out some other reactions below.
Hello, I'm Tom Hanks. The Cleveland Indians ownership have lost it's credibility, so it's borrowing some of mine. pic.twitter.com/1dtbSlb9NH
— Keith Muhlenkamp (@KeithMuhlenkamp) July 23, 2021
Also. Is this a joke? pic.twitter.com/CZxpjjOiFt
— Matches (@Matches10) July 23, 2021
After Tom Hanks narration of how important and great baseball is in Cleveland, does it not seem ironic that they now want to exclude indigenous Americans from the honor of carrying the name?
— Pat Manley for Ohio (@PatManleyOhio) July 23, 2021
Team names rejected by Cleveland pic.twitter.com/bPyIXmJBZf
— Good Will Accounting (@GoodWillAcctg) July 23, 2021
It's about god damn time but this is huge and amazing news. Now change the twitter handle to really show that you're about the life. Also thank you for actually listening to Indigenous voices on the matter and doing what's right
— UzamakiJ (@UzamakiJ) July 23, 2021
Per the New York Times, the baseball team spent most of the time before the 2019 season working to change the Chief Wahoo caricature logo that many naturally suspected as racist.
