Today, the New York Times reported that the Cleveland Indians will stop using the Chief Wahoo logo on their uniforms in 2019. According to a statement from MLB commissioner Rob Manfred that cited “Major League Baseball’s commitment to building a culture of diversity and inclusion,” the Indians organization “ultimately agreed with [Manfred’s] position that the logo is no longer appropriate for on-field use in Major League Baseball, and [Manfred] appreciate[s] [Indians CEO Paul] Dolan’s acknowledgment that removing it from the on-field uniform by the start of the 2019 season is the right course.”
Wahoo’s retirement has been widely viewed as inevitable at least since 2016, when Major League Baseball was stirred to eliminate the logo due to the national embarrassment it caused during the World Series.