CLEVELAND — Commissioner Rob Manfred insists Major League Baseball did not make a deal with the Cleveland Indians about banning their contentious logo, Chief Wahoo.
The club agreed to remove the hotly debated, smiling caricature from its caps and jerseys starting this season, a decision that came after Cleveland was awarded the 2019 All-Star Game.
The timing was curious, but Manfred said there was no link between the two.
“The All-Star Game was awarded to Cleveland by Commissioner [Bud] Selig before I even had one conversation about Chief Wahoo,” Manfred said. “You can write that as fact.”
Although the Wahoo logo, which has been around since the 1940s, is no longer on the field, the mascot is as popular as ever as fans continue to wear all kinds of merchandise bearing his image.