HOUSTON — Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred is deferring to the Native American community in and around Atlanta on whether it’s appropriate for the Braves to be encouraging the tomahawk chop gesture when the World Series is there for Games 3-5 this weekend.
“It’s important to understand we have 30 markets around the country,” Manfred said before Game 1 between the Braves and Astros on Tuesday evening. “They’re not all the same. The Braves have done a phenomenal job with the Native American community.”
Manfred said the Native American community in the Atlanta region “is wholly supportive of the Braves program, including the chop. For me, that’s the end of the story.”
However, opinions on the gesture have varied over the years within Native American communities, including some with ties to the region. The National Council of American Indians has called for the franchise to drop the chop as well as the team nickname.
The issues have taken on greater relevance this year as the Cleveland organization changed its longtime nickname from the Indians to the Guardians. Manfred’s answer on a possible nickname change for Atlanta was the same as it was for the chop: This is a local issue.
“Each market is different,” he reiterated. “Way before this became an issue, Atlanta cultivated a relationship with the Native American community which was very helpful in terms of making decisions like the two that have been raised.”
MLB players union head Tony Clark said he is interested in having a conversation about anything in baseball that impacts social issues. This is one of them.
“An issue that yields or excites the kind of commentary that you’re seeing in Atlanta is worthy of some dialogue,” Clark said. “I know that there are certain things that as a Black man resonate with me, and we’ll assume that there are instances that resonate with others as well. And to the extent that that’s one of them, then it’s worthy of some dialogue.”
Manfred was asked whether his…
Source : espn
