Cleveland Indians expected to drop team name as early as 2022

According to a report from The New York Times, the Cleveland Indians are said to be dropping their longtime nickname, and that the announcement of a new name could arrive by the end of this week.

Cleveland's longtime professional baseball franchise first went by the name "Indians" starting in 1915 and has kept the name through over 17,000 games, which include multiple playoff appearances, six American League pennants, and two World Series titles.

However, the team was subject to scrutiny in recent years in the form of protests from baseball fans and Native American groups. This move comes follows the decision by the NFL's Washington Football Team in July to drop a name long considered to be a racial slur towards Natives. Back in early 2018, the franchise announced its intent to retire its longtime "Chief Wahoo" logo, and much of the 2019 season was spent phasing out the logos and imagery of the cartoon mascot some considered to be demeaning towards Native Americans.

In a name and identity-changing process that would include many logistical choices, including work with uniform and merchandise manufacturers, a timetable for the name change is not yet known, although the Times reports a person said the team planned to keep the Indians name and uniforms for the 2021 season and shift as early as 2022. The Times also reports the team may move forward without a name - comparable to the Washington Football Team's procedures - and come up with a new name in consultation with the public.

Original nicknames for the club before the "Indians" moniker came to be were "Blues", "Bronchos", and "Naps" after their inception into the American League in 1901 (this does not include the "Spiders", which were the National League franchise that called Cleveland home from 1887-1899).