Terry Pluto interview with Dolan has some good info:
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Removing Chief Wahoo from the Cleveland Indians uniforms in 2019?
That's exactly what is happening as the Indians and Major League Baseball made that announcement Monday.
The Indians will keep their nickname, Indians owner Paul Dolan told The Plain Dealer.
"This is the hardest decision we've had to make during our entire ownership," said Dolan, whose family bought the franchise after the 1999 season.
Dolan grew up in Northeast Ohio. He played baseball at Gilmour Academy. As a kid, he wore Tribe shirts and caps, some of them with the Chief Wahoo logo.
"You can't help but be aware of how many of our fans are connected to Chief Wahoo," he said. "We grew up with it. I remember seeing the little cartoon of The Chief in the paper each day, showing if the Indians won or lost."
The usually reserved Dolan's voice cracked a bit at different times during this interview.
He believes he struck a fair compromise with Major League Baseball.
Fans can wear Chief Wahoo items to the games. There will be no Chief Wahoo police harassing fans at Progressive Field.
There will still be some Chief Wahoo items for sale at the park. The Indians didn't want to lose the merchandising rights and create a black market where anyone could legally do anything they wanted with the logo.
For years, the Indians have been making the Block-C the main logo of the team. He has indicated that to me in previous interviews.
Dolan said as far as he's aware, there have been no pictures of Chief Wahoo at the park for several years -- other than historical photos.
"Those will stay," said Dolan. "We are not erasing our history."
But the franchise has felt the pressure from different groups and now, Major League Baseball, to change the logo.
"Some people are impacted by the logo," said Dolan. "Even if it's a small minority or more than that, it's a fact. In this day and age, that kind of caricature is subject to various interpretations."
THE NAME STAYS
Some people also wanted the Indians to change the nickname of the franchise.
"Not only are we adamant about keeping the name Indians, but the Commissioner (Rob Manfred) is similarly supportive of the name," said Dolan. "Yes, some people will continue to make noise about that, but I'm not troubled by its use. The Commissioner is not troubled by the use of the name. We are confident the name will continue on."
Dolan said there has been "a long dialogue" with the Commissioner's office about Chief Wahoo.
"I think the Commissioner has begun to understand how important the logo is to the local community," said Dolan. "This discussion has been on our plate for a year. Our willingness to do something significant with Chief Wahoo has been there from the get-go."
Dolan meant from the start of serious talks with the Commissioner's office, which began more than a year ago.
Dolan said the struggle was to find "a compromise" between the people who love Chief Wahoo and others who are offended by it.
"There are people who have a strong emotional tie to Chief Wahoo and see it as a positive symbol of our community," said Dolan. "They don't see it as anything negative toward Native Americans. It's about Cleveland and the Indians and what all that means to us."
But Dolan knows times have changed.
"We also want to respond to people who we think have legitimate considerations that the logo is no longer appropriate," he said.
TIED TO ALL-STAR GAME?
This season, there will be no change in the uniforms. The Chief Wahoo logo will remain as a patch on the sleeves. The Indians have been wearing different caps for years -- some with Chief Wahoo, most with the block-C.
In 2019, Chief Wahoo is retired. On the sleeves, there will be a patch for the 2019 All-Star game -- which is set for Cleveland.
Did the Tribe have to do something with Chief Wahoo to keep the All-Star game?
"We have been on the path to do something with Chief Wahoo," Dolan said. "I wasn't sure how long it would take us to get there. The Commissioner has pushed us faster -- and that enabled this compromise."
Dolan said at one point, it seemed the Commissioner wanted Chief Wahoo gone ... period. Not just from the uniforms.
"Then he came around to understanding its relationship to the community and the team," said Dolan.
But did the Commissioner insist it be changed or lose the All-Star game?
"He never made that threat," said Dolan. "He said we'd have the game because he was honoring the commitment made by the former Commissioner (Bud Selig). He was going to honor it, regardless of our position on Chief Wahoo."
WHAT COMES NEXT?
In 2020, the Indians have to come up with something for a patch on the sleeves.
The answer is not another Block-C.
"We have a fair amount of time to explore what, if any mark, we want to put on the sleeve," said Dolan.
For more than 20 years, I have been suggesting the team hire some top artists from various Indian tribes to submit new logos. Pick several then create a contest where the fans vote for their favorite.
By the middle 1990s, it was obvious the Indians would eventually have to change the Chief Wahoo logo.
Dolan has never been especially impressed with my idea. As usual, he smiled and sort of shrugged at my suggestion.
But the team needs to do something by 2020.
"I realize that," he said. "But for right now, I just want to stress we're sensitive to both sides of the (Chief Wahoo) issue. We wanted to find the best compromise possible, and I think we did."
