Terry Francona stands by Guardians name change

After more than a century with the name “Indians,” the Cleveland Guardians changed their name following the 2021 season in response to increasing calls for change amid controversy over Native American monikers.

Terry Francona, who was the manager of Cleveland at the time of the name change, expressed his support for the decision, despite President Donald Trump’s calls to revert to the old name.

“I was really proud of him, because I don’t think it was real popular with a segment of probably the older fans that kind of, I guess like Trump, ‘Why can’t it be like it used to be?’” Francona said.

“And I guess my retort would be, ‘There’s probably a lot of people in this country who don’t want it like it used to be.’ And if you’re White, (you’re) probably just fine. That’s not how it’s supposed to work. Like, I didn’t even care what they made the name in Cleveland. I really didn’t. I just know how I was in on those conversations, and we were trying to be respectful. And for that, I gave those guys a lot of credit.”

Workers begin to remove the Cleveland Indians sign from above the scoreboard at Progressive Field on Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021 in Cleveland.(AP Photo/Ron Schwane)

Former President Trump took to social media to express his desire for the Guardians and Commanders to go back to their previous Native American names.

“Not everybody’s gonna be happy. That’s never gonna be the case,” Francona added. “But I think as long as what you’re trying to do is respectful, you can go ahead and let people complain.”

Guardians President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti dismissed Trump’s comments, stating that he was not paying much attention to them.

A Cleveland Indians fan holds up a sign during a baseball game between the Kansas City Royals and the Cleveland Indians on Monday, Sept. 27, 2021 in Cleveland.(AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

“We’ve gotten the opportunity to build the brand as the Guardians over the last four years and are excited about the future,” Antonetti said.