CLEVELAND, Ohio — Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said before Game 2 of the World Series on Wednesday night that “logos are primarily a local matter.”
But he’s going to speak with the Indians about Chief Wahoo, planning a meeting with Indians CEO Paul Dolan after the World Series.
Confirming his earlier comments in a Wednesday radio interview, Manfred said during a pregame news conference at Progressive Field when asked by cleveland.com that the World Series has heightened the attention on the Indians’ logo.
“Obviously, when a team’s in the World Series, there’s a spotlight on that team,” Manfred said. “Everything about that team attracts more attention and I think that’s probably the case with respect to the logo issue.”
The Indians’ deepest postseason push in 19 years has led to greater discussion of the logo, which was featured on the caps the Indians wore against the Chicago Cubs as they chased their first World Series Championship since 1948.
“I know that that particular logo is offensive to some people, and all of us at Major League Baseball understand why,” Manfred said at the news conference for the Hank Aaron Awards, given to the top offensive players in each league.
“The local club makes decisions about its logos. Fans get attached to logos. They become part of a team’s history. So it’s not as easy as coming to the conclusion and realizing that the logo is offensive to some segment.
“I’ve talked to Mr. Dolan about this issue. We’ve agreed away from the World Series at an appropriate time we will have a conversation about this. I want to understand fully what his view is, and we’ll go from there. At this point in this context, I’m just not prepared to say more.”
