Cleveland baseball team still considering a name change

The Cleveland baseball organization is still discussing a possible name change, with no firm timetable in place.

Prior to the start of the 2020 MLB season, the Cleveland baseball organization discussed possibly changing their name. The discussions began after seeing the Washington NFL franchise transition from their previous name to the Washington Football Team. But where do things stand as of December?

Cleveland team president Chris Antonetti told the media on Thursday that discussions on a name change are still ongoing, but there’s no official timetable for when a decision will be finalized.

Cleveland still weighing its options

“We continue to work through that process,” Antonetti said, via WKYC 3 Studios. “As we shared, we wanted to make sure we were thoughtful and connecting with all the different stakeholders and we’ve been engaged in those conversations over the course of the last several months.

“I’ve personally participated in some of those and have been enlightened by the conversation and we’ll continue that process and once we’re at a point where we have more information to share, we’ll certainly do that.”

Shortly after Dan Snyder received backlash for his football team’s former nickname, Cleveland owner Paul Dolan began the process of determining whether it was necessary to move on from their moniker. That process included meeting with Native American groups to engage in a discussion.

Cleveland did take steps towards the eventual adoption of a new name. The controversial “Chief Wahoo” mascot was officially retired by the team and MLB following the 2018 season. In its place, the team used its current “Block C” logo. For Opening Day, they donned their navy blue road jerseys with Cleveland written on the front in a sign of support for a name change.

Washington Football Team president Jason Wright told ESPN that a new name will be known internally by early spring. From there, they have to go through the trademark process, which is lengthy. Not only that, but Wright said that the placeholder Football Team moniker is “definitely in the running.”

Long story short, don’t expect a specific decision for a name change to come any time soon. We’d say check back in 2021.