President Donald Trump wants Cleveland Guardians to change their mascot back to the Indians, but former manager Terry Francona defended the franchise’s decision to cater to wokeness, instead.
On Sunday, Trump wrote on Truth Social that he wants the MLB franchise to undo the name change it underwent in 2021. However, team president Chris Antonetti remained adamant that the team will be called the Guardians indefinitely.
Francona, who now manages the Cincinnati Reds, was the skipper for the Guardians from 2013 until 2023, guiding them to a World Series appearance in 2016. He was also the manager when the team pivoted from the Indians nickname, and he said before a game on Wednesday that he approved of Cleveland owner Paul Dolan’s decision to make the change.
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Furthermore, he threw shade at Trump for wanting Cleveland to undergo another name change.
🔗: https://t.co/4XXnyZ4j04
— clevelanddotcom (@clevelanddotcom) July 23, 2025
Former Guardians manager Terry Francona is pushing back against President Trump’s call for his former club to revert to its old “Indians” nickname.
Photos: Getty Images | AP pic.twitter.com/awCOGVU1Z7
“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.’...we were trying to be respectful. And for that, I gave those guys a lot of credit.
Go ahead and let people complain. I don’t care.”
Wait a second: what does being white have to do with having an opinion on a baseball team’s mascot? Are white people who want the named change somehow racist? I don’t see an obvious connection between the two, probably because there isn’t one.
It’s a typical liberal argument: white people are somehow racist for having an opinion that’s not politically correct. Sadly, one of the most brilliant baseball minds has been brainwashed into believing this is true.
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