Jim Edmonds, a former St. Louis Cardinals player who is now a commentator on Bally Sports Midwest, had an awkward moment during a broadcast as he talked about a couple of teams in particular, the Cleveland Indians and Washington Redskins and their name change, but his comments were not well received on social media.
The name change, from 2020 to Cleveland Guardians and Washington Commanders, was commented on by Jim Edmonds, although it seems his words were not well received, after the names were labelled as racist and insensitive.
"I actually got quite a few messages on social media about some of the teams and then it's really funny when people come up to you and say, 'Hey, I'm from this area and we really love our baseball here. ' And someone else will say, 'Yeah, I wish they had the old name they used to have.' It's funny to hear everybody's opinion," he began his remarks.
Edmons' comments on Indians and Redskins
Asked what names he was referring to, he replied:
"The one in Spokane. A couple of people came up and said they're from Spokane with the Indians. And I thought that was cool," he said of the name of the Colorado Rockies' High-A affiliate and that they didn't change their name when Cleveland did.
And then he recalled what happened with the Guardians and Commanders before he was cut.
"I'm still shocked that we've changed so much, that we're no longer allowed to have the Cleveland Indians, the Guardians. And I say that also because my wife is part Native American and, you know, I always thought it was a great thing. It's not a bad thing to have a team named after the Indians or vice versa, whatever, the Washington Redskins. All that stuff," he said.
The Indians decided to change because of criticism of the nickname by indigenous communities, while the Redskins dropped the name because of its racist connotations.
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