The Cleveland Indians began removing the “Indians” written emblem from the scoreboard at Progressive Field.
As of December 2020, the Cleveland Indians will play under the moniker “Guardians” coming forward after deciding that its prior name was offensive to indigenous people.
It will be the first time since 1915 that Cleveland has had a new name, and the Hope Memorial Bridge’s 43-foot “Guardians of Traffic” sculptures are to blame.
A new written logo for “Guardians” will appear on the scoreboard at Progressive Field on Opening Day, replacing the previous one.
We identified a few essential aspects that were most important to fans connect to Cleveland, commemorate our great baseball legacy, and unite our community and we believe that Guardians uphold all three pillars,” said Brian Barren Cleveland’s president of business operations, according to a news statement.
The AP reports that it will take “several days” to remove the 80-foot-long scripted emblem in its entirety, but workmen began deconstructing the “I” on Tuesday.
Upon completion of the makeover, the city of Cleveland will maintain its original scripted logo in a storage facility.
Last week’s release of Cleveland’s new name and apparel was a setback for the team.
When the American League franchise tried to use the moniker “Cleveland Guardians” for their roller derby team, the Cleveland Guardians sued in federal court.
When the Cleveland Indians seized the name “Cleveland Guardians” overnight and “knowingly and intentionally” desecrated the rights of their original owner the roller derby team’s principal attorney, Christopher Pardo, said in a statement.
Despite the roller derby team’s complaint, the Cleveland MLB franchise said in a statement that it expects to continue using the Guardians name.