Rob Manfred defends Braves tomahawk chop: ‘End of story’

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred doesn’t like being political. He’s admitted that’s become tougher of late, especially in a season where he moved the All-Star Game for political reasons.

But no topic is of greater consequence at this year’s World Series than the Atlanta Braves, and a looming name change that could be coming as the franchise gets more unwanted attention. Along with a name change, the tomahawk chop, which some find offensive due to its Native American imagery, could become a mantra of the past as well.

“The Native American community in that region is wholly supportive of the Braves program, including the chop,” Manfred said. “For me, that’s kind of the end of the story. In that market, we’re taking into account the Native American community. …In Atlanta, they’ve done a great job with the Native Americans. The Native American community is the most important group to decide whether it’s appropriate or not.”

Is the Braves Chop racist?

The chop has been criticized by some people of Native-American decent, including MLB players. St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Ryan Helsey called it offensive as recently as the 2019 playoffs.

“It kind of devalues our Cherokee heritage and the Native-American history,” Helsey said. “Us as Cherokee native people went through a lot in this country.”

The Braves discouraged fans from doing the chop at that time, but have since backed down.

The Braves cite several local Native American organizations who have no issue with the chop, of course. But it does beg to question — if it’s so essential that you arm fans with talking points in favor of the chop, is it really worth defending in the first place?