| The Braves wore the "screaming Indian" logo on their sleeves in the past. (Getty Images) |
Uni-watch.com's Paul Lukas, the man who had the story on the new batting practice caps, writes Thursday that the Braves may change their "screaming Indian" design.
As a refresher, here's what the Braves planned on using as a batting practice hat for 2013:
From Lukas' Thursday morning's blog entry:
Word I’m hearing through the grapevine is that last week’s ESPN column on MLB’s new BP caps generated so much controversy and backlash against the Braves’ “screaming Indian” design that the team may end up switching to another cap logo. If that happens, expect MLB to issue lots of revisionist-history talking points about how the Indian design was just “one option we were exploring” and that it was “in development but never finalized” and that the Braves simply “opted to go in another direction” or some such. But take it from me: That design was (and, for now, still is) good to go. As of today, it’s listed in the MLB Style Guide. If the Braves ultimately abandon it, it’ll be because they responded to the backlash, period. Which, of course, is precisely what they should do. Here’s hoping.
There's going to be backlash either way, I understand that. If you read the comments from our previous story, I'm pretty much just a pinko commie PC girl because I find the hat offensive. I understand that (to an extent), and I'm sure there will be more name calling to come. There will certainly be fans upset, fans who liked the hat as much as some of us disliked it. But in the end, I believe it's better for MLB and the Braves to take the high road and change the hat. They're going to be called names either way, and in the end, I tend to err on the side of not putting what many believe is an offensive caricature on official team merchandise (and in the same direction the league, team and society have been moving regardless).
For those who like to say nobody is really offended, please read this from NativeAppropriations.com. (And in the spirit of equal time, here's someone who says I'm an idiot for not liking the cap.)
I think we can all have different opinions without resorting to name calling -- or at least I hope so.
And in that spirit, I present you with a quick and easy solution, just as I did initially. Make a batting practice hat with this classic template, which keeps the retro theme and simply is more appealing (at least to me):
| Even Nationals manager Davey Johnson (6) has to approve of these lids. (Getty Images) |
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