The defining feature of Rob Manfred’s time as MLB commissioner has been his tendency to say he’ll discuss a subject, any subject, and then seemingly never get around to it.
So it’s easy to view with skepticism his statement Thursday that he’ll talk to Cleveland Indians’ owner Paul Dolan about the team’s racist Chief Wahoo logo, which features a red-faced Native American caricature.
“I’ve talked to Mr. (Paul) Dolan about this issue,” Manfred said Wednesday night before Game 2 of the World Series at Progressive Field. “We’ve agreed away from the World Series at an appropriate time we will have a conversation about this. I want to understand fully what his view is, and we’ll go from there.
“At this point, in this context, I’m just not prepared to say more.”
He said more:
“I know that that particular logo is offensive to some people, and all of us at Major League Baseball understand why,” Manfred said. “Logos are, however, primarily a local matter. The local club makes decisions about its logos. Fans get attached to logos. They become part of a team’s history. So it’s not easy as coming to the conclusion and realizing that the logo is offensive to some segment.
“Obviously when a team is in the World Series, there is a spotlight on that team,” Manfred added. “Everything about that team attracts more attention, and I think that’s probably the case with respect to the logo issue.”
The logo is blatantly racist. That has been true since was first used decades ago, and it is true now that the Indians are in the World Series and the subject is getting a lot of attention.
In fact, the Indians know the logo is racist, which is why the de-emphasized it before this season, opting to use the “block C” as their primary logo. The only reason Chief Wahoo is still around at all is so the team can sell some hats a t-shirts.
Cynicism aside, it’s good to see Manfred at least paying lip service to the issue of the Indians’ logo. You’d think his admission that, “I know that that particular logo is offensive to some people,” would be enough to get him to force Cleveland to retire Chief Wahoo, but apparently not. We’ll see whether Manfred’s involvement prompts a change or whether this joins banning shifts and regulating relief pitchers in the bin of ideas the commissioner said he’d think about and then disregarded.
