• The Associated Press reports that while the Cleveland Indians indeed are changing the team's nickname because of its racist overtones, it won't happen right away - the team expects to keep its current name at least through the 2021 season.
Owner Paul Dolan tells the AP that "it’s time," and that "the name is no longer acceptable in our world."
Dolan says that "after months of internal discussions and meetings with groups, including Native Americans who have sought to have the team stop using a moniker many deem racist, the American League franchise is dropping the name it has been known by since 1915." The process of choosing a new name has already begun, he says. "It’s a difficult and complex process to identify a new name and do all the things you do around activating that name. We are going to work at as quick a pace as we can while doing it right.
“But we’re not going to do something just for the sake of doing it. We’re going to take the time we need to do it right.”
Dolan adds, "There is definitely some pain in this. It’s the end of an era or the beginning of an era. But accompanying that is the recognition and maybe even excitement that we’re going on to do something that is better. It will be better for the community. It will be better for our team. And it will be something hopefully that unites everybody. It’s not anything that we have to feel any kind of reluctance about expressing … It’s going to take some time for everybody to embrace but I think when they do, we’ll all be better off for it."
• In Monday Night Football, the Baltimore Ravens defeated the Cleveland Browns 47-42.
