Perdue and Loeffler dismiss activists’ concerns.
The two Georgia Republican United States Senators who are in runoff elections on January 5th, 2021 are not supportive of the decision by the Cleveland Indians ownership to drop the brand name of the Major League Baseball team after the 2021 season. The two Senators, David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler put out a statement supporting Atlanta’s Major League Baseball’s Braves brand name and urged the team owners not to change the name. The two Senators complained about the cancel culture and are opposed to changing the Braves brand name, They also pointed out that the team is not only a Georgia institution but a national institution. The two Senators should learn about the history of the team and look at current trends. TOPPS Baseball Cards no longer uses the Braves Screamin’ Indian logo. The National Association of American Indians is trying to get Atlanta ownership to change the name and to stop people from using the Tomahawk chop at the start of Braves games. Atlanta is not the original home of the team. The team started in Boston and moved to Milwaukee in 1953. The team ended up in Atlanta in 1966.
In the 19th century, the Boston team had a variety of names including the Red Stockings, Beaneaters, Doves, Rustlers, and Bees. Boston owners settled on the Braves in 1912 but the name didn’t stick. In 1936, the team’s new owner Bob Quinn rebranded the team as the Bees. The Braves name returned in 1942. In 2005, the National Collegiate Athletic Association urged 19 schools who used what it thought were slurs against Native Americans and American Indians to rebrand. Florida State University worked out a deal with the Seminole Tribe of Florida to retain the Seminoles name. Liberty Media Corporation, the Atlanta team owner, has repeatedly said no to changing the brand name.
