How come the Atlanta Braves get to keep their name? Hey, Hoynsie (2024)

FAQs

Why are the Atlanta Braves allowed to keep their name? ›

The Braves have built a strong relationship with the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians, who are not opposed to the name or the Tomahawk Chop, according to Richard Sneed, the Principal Chief of the EBCI.

The Atlanta Braves have said they had no plans to change its name having a good working relationship and ongoing conversations with the Eastern Band of the Cherokees in North Carolina to guide and advise their decisions.

Why did the Cleveland Indians decide to change their name to the Cleveland Guardians? The Indians part of the Cleveland Indians name can be considered offensive to Native Americans so they agreed to change the name.

The North Georgia minor league baseball team is now known as the Rome Emperors. The Minor League Baseball says the Rome team received 5,300 name suggestions from fans, and they decided to go with the “Emperors” because it is multi-faceted. Rome's new logo features an emperor penguin, dressed in ancient Roman attire.

Native Americans have been questioning the Braves' mascot choices since the 1970s. Native American objections to the tomahawk chop received much attention during the 1990s and have continued into the 2020s. The Atlanta Braves and their fans continue their overwhelming support of the team name and chop tradition.

The team was sold the following year to James Gaffney, an alderman for Tammany Hall, which used an Indian headdress for its emblem and referred to its members as Braves. Consequently, the franchise became known as the Braves for the first time in 1912.

Praves – Refers to the proud Braves fans.

Dolan, on the day the name change was announced, said the Indians were in a different situation than the Braves. They had no large Native American group to bond with and, perhaps, support them when it came to keeping the name.

In fact, the franchise that started as the Boston Red Stockings in the 1870s and is now known as the Atlanta Braves is the only one of today's 30 Major League franchises to have fielded a team every season professional baseball has been in existence.

After nearly a decade as the Devil Rays, and countless phone calls pleading with the team to change the name, the team's new ownership, led by current owner Stuart Sternberg, decided that it was best to change the name to the Tampa Bay Rays. That change happened after the 2007 season.

Why did Cleveland pick Guardians? ›

The team's name references the Guardians of Traffic, eight monolithic 1932 Art Deco sculptures by Henry Hering on the city's Hope Memorial Bridge, which is adjacent to Progressive Field.

The Guardians are named after the Art Deco statues on the Hope Memorial Bridge near Progressive Field in Cleveland. The statues are known as the "Guardians of traffic."

After the 20 years of donning the Braves tomahawk across the chest, the Rome Braves announced on August 11, 2023, that they would be dropping Braves' moniker in 2024. On November 16, 2023, the team was renamed the Rome Emperors, with a cap insignia and logo that featured an emperor penguin.

Rome was previously owned by the Braves, but were sold in December of 2021 to Diamond Baseball Holdings, who has since been sold to Silver Lake Partners.

Dolan, on the day the name change was announced, said the Indians were in a different situation than the Braves. They had no large Native American group to bond with and, perhaps, support them when it came to keeping the name.

The term brave was the construct of early American traders referring to Native American men who were well trained and prepared to fight to defend their homeland.

Praves – Refers to the proud Braves fans.

Known by a variety of names during its early years in Boston, the team formally adopted the Braves name in 1912, and the franchise has used it ever since.