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| To encourage the Cleveland Indians baseball franchise | 1 |
| to retire their nickname and mascot and to adopt a | 2 |
| new nickname and a new mascot free of racial | 3 |
| insensitivity. | 4 |
| WHEREAS, The Cleveland Indians professional baseball | 5 |
| franchise is an enduring institution, which has contributed to the | 6 |
| well-being of Ohioans for over a century; and | 7 |
| WHEREAS, The franchise assumed its current nickname, the | 8 |
| Indians, in 1915; and | 9 |
| WHEREAS, Prior to 1915, the franchise had operated under | 10 |
| numerous other nicknames including the Lake Shores, the Spiders, | 11 |
| the Bluebirds, and the Naps; and | 12 |
| WHEREAS, Many notable athletes such as Roberto Alomar, Steve | 13 |
| Carlton, Bob Feller, Nap Lajoie, Frank Robinson, and Cy Young have | 14 |
| played for the Cleveland franchise, some prior to the adoption of | 15 |
| the current nickname; and | 16 |
| WHEREAS, Louis Sockalexis, who played for the Cleveland | 17 |
| Spiders between 1897 and 1899, may have been the first person of | 18 |
| Native American ancestry to play for a major league baseball | 19 |
| franchise; and | 20 |
| WHEREAS, In 1947, Larry Doby became the first | 21 |
| African-American to play in the American League when he joined the | 22 |
| Cleveland Indians; and | 23 |
| WHEREAS, In 1975, Frank Robinson was named player-manager by | 24 |
| the Cleveland franchise, making Robinson the first black manager | 25 |
| of a major league baseball franchise; and | 26 |
| WHEREAS, The franchise nickname and the Chief Wahoo logo have | 27 |
| been criticized for perpetuating Native American stereotypes; and | 28 |
| WHEREAS, Native American groups have organized peaceful | 29 |
| protests against the Cleveland Indians franchise for many years; | 30 |
| and | 31 |
| WHEREAS, Cleveland City Councilman Zack Reed has called for | 32 |
| the city to ban the display of the Cleveland Indians mascot Chief | 33 |
| Wahoo on public property; and | 34 |
| WHEREAS, In 2005, the American Psychological Association | 35 |
| Council of Representatives adopted a resolution recommending the | 36 |
| immediate retirement of American Indian mascots, symbols, images, | 37 |
| and personalities by schools, colleges, universities, athletic | 38 |
| teams, and organizations; and | 39 |
| WHEREAS, Other professional sports franchises, such as the | 40 |
| Washington Redskins, are considering a name change; and | 41 |
| WHEREAS, Miami University and Dartmouth College have changed | 42 |
| their nicknames and mascots due to concerns of Native Americans | 43 |
| and the perpetuation of stereotypes; and | 44 |
| WHEREAS, A team named the Indians, or one that carries a | 45 |
| mascot of a stereotypical Native American caricature, such as | 46 |
| Chief Wahoo, is an affront to Native Americans; and | 47 |
| WHEREAS, An evolving sense of decency and respect demand that | 48 |
| the Cleveland Indians change their nickname and mascot; now | 49 |
| therefore be it | 50 |
| RESOLVED, That the General Assembly of the State of Ohio | 51 |
| encourages the Cleveland Indians baseball franchise to retire its | 52 |
| nickname and mascot and to adopt a new nickname and a new mascot | 53 |
| free of racial insensitivity; and be it further | 54 |
| RESOLVED, That the Clerk of the Senate transmit duly | 55 |
| authenticated copies of this resolution to the current owner of | 56 |
| the Cleveland Indians baseball franchise, and to the news media of | 57 |
| Ohio. | 58 |