Peach Tree Times

Like other professional teams with ties to indigenous people, the Atlanta Braves have recently been questioned regarding whether or not the team will change their name and mascot. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), U.S. Senator from Georgia, did not respond to an interview request from the Peach Tree Times regarding this issue.

“I think it’s important to understand that we have 30 markets in the country,’’ MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said ahead of Game 1 of the World Series between the Braves and Houston Astros on Tuesday night, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, WKYC reported. “Not all are the same. The Braves have done a phenomenal job with the Native American community. The Native American community in that region is fully supportive of the Braves’ program, including the chop. 

“For me, that’s kind of the end of the story.’’

Other MLB teams’ stories end differently, such as the newly renamed Cleveland Guardians. After years of having Chief Wahoo in its logo, the Cleveland Guardians are using the name during the 2022 season.

In light of the ongoing argument over the longtime use of Native American names in both professional and collegiate sports, Fox News asked Senator Raphael Warnock and his Republican challenger Herschel Walker where they stand on the issue regarding the Atlanta Braves.

Warnock told Fox, "I am aware that the Braves organization is having conversations with the Native American community. I trust them to work through that process and come to a conclusion that makes sense."

The Conversation noted that professional sports teams have been changing names for years.

In an interview with Fox News, Walker insisted that he didn’t want to see the Braves change their name. The former college and professional football star said, "I want to ask Sen. Warnock, and he needs to come out and say, does he believe they should change the name? Well, I don't," The news outlet confirms the Atlanta Braves’ name and the team’s accompanying tomahawk logo have long come under criticism for being offensive to Native Americans. However, Walker noted, "I've asked some Native Americans, and they were OK with it."

The Conversation wrote some cringed whenever the Braves use the “tomahawk song.”

“I think it’s a misrepresentation of the Cherokee people or Native Americans in general,” Ryan Helsley, a pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals and a member of the Cherokee Nation, said to St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The Conversation noted. “Just depicts them in this kind of caveman-type people way who aren’t intellectual.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Braves steadfastly believe the name “honors, supports and values the Native American community,” and team chairman Terry McGuirk told the AJC: "We are so proud of our team's name, and our expectation is that we will always be the Atlanta Braves."

The Atlanta Braves said it maintains a “cultural working relationship” with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, saying it and the tribe created the Native American Working Group.

In 2020, the AJC sent out a seven-question survey asking Braves fans where they stand on the name-change issue. When asked the question, "Do you believe Braves name is offensive?", 90.6% of respondents (5,146) said "No", while 9.4% (534) said "Yes."

“To me, the Washington Redskins name was probably the only team name that I could look at and say ‘that’s derogatory, that’s a racial slur,’” Richard Sneed, the principal chief of the North Carolina-based Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, said in 11alive. “But all the rest – they’re an affirmation of the honor and strength and courage and the warrior spirit of native people.”

Last year, Atlanta was due to have the honor of hosting the MLB All-Star Game. NRSC says Warnock joined a list of democrats supporting a boycott of Atlanta due to the state’s new election security law. According to the president and CEO of Cobb Travel & Tourism, the MLB’s decision cost Georgia $100 million.