A southwestern Ontario youth baseball club is getting rid of its 'Indians' team nickname and logo amid growing controversy regarding Cleveland's Major League Baseball team.The Cleveland Indians continue to face backlash over the use of their nickname and logo, which many people have described as racist and offensive to Indigenous people. Cleveland's long-standing logo is a caricature of Chief Wahoo, which the small-town Ontario team has been using for 60 years.Using the phrase, 'If the pros won't, we will," the club from Alvinston—which has a population of around 2,500 and is located one hour outside London, Ontario—posted a message to Facebook announcing its decision, and has started a GoFundMe campaign to crowdsource a new team name and raise money. The money would be used to help pay the costs for replacement uniforms, equipment, and ballpark signs. As of Tuesday morning, the team was just shy of the halfway mark of its $29,000 goal."Our teams have a proud tradition and have won many local and provincial championships as the "Indians", but we've decided that teaching respect for each other, respect for opponents and respect for every community we visit is a far more important tradition than any name or logo," the organization wrote. "We're proud that our small town teams are doing the right thing, when the MLB, NFL, CFL and NHL won't."Many people across Canada and the United States have taken to social media throughout the MLB playoffs to voice their concerns about Cleveland's name and logo, tweeting with the hashtag #NotYourMascot. During the ALCS, Blue Jays radio play-by-play man Jerry Howarth made waves when he said he would not refer to the team by its nickname during any broadcast. Howarth said he hasn't done so since the early 1990s.There was also a battle that played out in Ontario courts as to whether Cleveland could show the Chief Wahoo logo and wear uniforms with 'Indians' written across the jersey while playing its playoff games in Toronto. The judge ruled in favour of the team, which went on to beat the Blue Jays 4-1 in the ALCS to set up a World Series matchup with the Chicago Cubs.MLB commissioner Rob Manfred will meet with Indians owner Larry Dolan in the offseason to discuss the controversial topic.The Indians, who are one win away from winning their first World Series since 1948, host the Cubs at Progressive Field for Game 6 on Tuesday night.
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