Sports Media Throws Cold Water on Indians’ Winning Streak Because of ‘Racist Logo’

The Cleveland Indians have been having quite a season. Yet, despite winning an amazing 19 games in a row, the sports media cannot help themselves, from ruining all the fun by bringing Chief Wahoo, the team’s 70-year-old “racist” logo.

After toppling the Los Angeles Dodgers for best record, the Indians have realized an 19-game winning streak which is only one game away from the 20-game record set by the Oakland A’s in 2002. The Tribe just might have the opportunity to hit that magic 21, too, as they next face the Detroit Tigers for a three-game series.

The Tigers are already mathematically eliminated from division contention, so they have not been having the best season, to put it mildly.

Needless to say, Indians fans and commentators have been on Cloud Nine for the last few months:

How about the Cleveland Indians⚾️What a Fantastic/Fun journey to #19⚾️from a #19👍🏼

— Bernie Kosar (@BernieKosarQB) September 12, 2017

It's probably time we just accept that the Cleveland Indians will never lose a baseball game again.

— Andrew Joseph (@AndyJ0seph) September 12, 2017

Will the Cleveland @Indians ever lose another game?

— Ben (@beems34) September 12, 2017

However, even as the excitement builds to a fever pitch, leave it to the liberal sports media to find a way to throw cold water on the fun.

Ted Berg of USA Today felt compelled to jump to his keyboard to proclaim the Cleveland Indians’ winning streak essentially null and void because the team still has its cartoon Indian, Chief Wahoo, as a mascot.

In a Sept. 11 editorial, Berg exclaims, “Everything about the red-hot Cleveland Indians is awesome except their very racist logo.”

Despite Cleveland having “the best record in the Majors,” and asking readers, “How fun is this team,” Berg is sour because of Chief Wahoo.

“It’s all extremely dope,” Berg says, trying and failing to sound cool. He continues, “…and watching the Indians right now would be fully and exhaustively dope were it not for the nagging little issue of the extremely racist logo they insist on wearing on their caps on most games: Chief Wahoo.”

Berg recounts that the team has made a few moves to eventually eliminate the long-standing logo in favor of the new block “C” logo, but he clearly feels the team isn’t moving fast enough. Berg even finds it “alarming” that the team has worn Chief Wahoo for most of its televised games and during the pre-season.

Then the writer scolds Cleveland for its continued fealty to its image:

Whether or not Chief Wahoo is appropriate really shouldn’t be up for debate at this point, and Indians fans clinging to the legacy of Louis Sockalexis — the Penobscot player in whose honor the Indians are named — are kidding themselves. Louis Sockalexis was a real dude, and he looked like a real dude. Chief Wahoo literally has a red face and a feather in his hair. This isn’t hard.

Berg concludes, admitting that no one wears Chief Wahoo gear with hatred, but he still feels morally superior to those who like their team’s decades old mascot:

Yes, the Indians have worn Wahoo for a while now, and yes, if you grew up in Cleveland you may have done so while wearing Wahoo gear without a shred of hatred in your heart toward anybody. But clinging stubbornly to its presence on caps and uniforms, as the Indians have, or trying to justify it as anything other than a grim relic of intolerance means taking a stand on the wrong side of history. We move forward.

And after Chief Wahoo is done away with, racism and intolerance will never be problems ever again.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.