Atlanta Braves Refuse To Change Team Name Despite Criticism
On the heels of Washington’s football team retiring the “Redskins” name, many have turned their attention to other controversial sports mascots.
One team identified as having a “problematic” name was Atlanta’s baseball team, the Braves.
This week, the organization sent an e-mail to season ticket holders in which it noted that changing the name “is not under consideration or deemed necessary.”
The e-mail made it clear, however, that the Braves have nothing but respect for Native Americans.
“The Atlanta Braves honors, respects, and values the Native American community,” the e-mail noted.
“As an organization, we have always drawn strength from our diversity and respect for everyone. That will never change.”
The Braves consulted with Native American groups prior to making their decision.
“Last fall, we furthered this relationship and pledged to meet and listen to Native American and tribal leaders from many areas, including the Eastern Band of the Cherokees (EBCI) in North Carolina,” the email added.
“As a result, we formed a cultural working relationship with the EBCI and have also formed a Native American Working Group with a diverse collection of other tribal leaders to collaborate on matters related to culture, education, outreach, and recognition on an on-going basis.”
Dan Snyder also once firmly pledged to never change his team’s name, but he ultimately relented when the financial pressure to do so became to immense to ignore. It will be interesting to see if the Braves can ultimately withstand that sort of financial pressure, or if they will eventually cave as well.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
