MLB trade deadline might be least of Atlanta Braves concerns this week

The Atlanta Braves have a busy week ahead. Given their obvious needs in the starting rotation and outfield, Alex Anthopoulos will be on the phone for much of the next five days. However, the trade deadline is not their only concern.

The Braves posted that they were honored to host “Native American groups in the state of Georgia, including the Georgia Council on American Indian Concerns, the Cherokee of Georgia Tribal Council, the Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee and the Lower Muskogee Creek Tribe.”

Unfortunately, the groups recognized by the state of Georgia do not necessarily align with the 574 federally-recognized tribes.

This has created a headache for Atlanta, and one that could've been avoided. Chuck Hoskin Jr., principal chief of Cherokee Nation, claimed that these groups are merely “posing as Cherokee tribes."

Braves have an unfortunate history with Native American community

When the Braves visited the White House shortly after winning the World Series in 2021, the Biden administration opened a can of worms that, frankly, started a conversation that was due in Atlanta.

"We believe that it's important to have this conversation, and Native American and Indigenous voices should be at the center of this conversation," then White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. Jean-Pierre stopped short of calling for a name change, but did raise questions about the team's name and Tomahawk chop in general. The National Congress of American Indians released a statement in the aftermath back in 2022.

"The name ‘Braves,’ the tomahawk adorning the team’s uniform, and the ‘tomahawk chop’ that the team exhorts its fans to perform at home games are meant to depict and caricature not just one tribal community but all Native people, and that is certainly how baseball fans and Native people everywhere interpret them,” National Congress of American Indians President Fawn Sharp said.

Again, this matter is complicated, but the Braves haven't done a good job navigating the muddy matters. With the trade deadline a mere five days away, the last thing Atlanta needs is to divert focus away from the on-field product.

Yet, this distraction is completely of their own doing.