ATLANTA — The Atlanta ballclub’s American Indian-based name has begun to bubble up again as a national controversy.
However, despite calls to change the name, the Braves have stated they intend to keep it, all while cultivating a relationship with Native Americans based just across the state line in North Carolina.
“CEO Derek Schiller reached out to me wanting to strengthen that relationship,” Richard Sneed, the principal chief of the North Carolina-based Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, told a Braves TV interviewer last year.
The strength of Sneed’s relationship with the Atlanta Braves is evident on the team’s website, where an entire page is devoted to the tribe. The team even asked Sneed to throw out the first pitch in a game last year. The same day, the Braves photographed Sneed with Hall of Famer Hank Aaron, and civil rights legend Andrew Young.
The Braves posted a well-produced video promoting the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, as well as a photo of Sneed, Schiller, and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.
The team’s site said it and the charitable Braves Foundation have also made financial contributions to Cherokee causes.
Over that time, there have been numerous calls among Native American groups for the Braves to rename the team and to eliminate the tomahawk chop.
But, the team’s outreach to the Cherokee tribe has paid off, as Sneed has stayed loyal to the team and the Atlanta Braves name.
Sneed declined an interview request Friday, but he spoke with 11Alive News earlier in 2021.
“To me, the Washington Redskins name was probably the only team name that I could look at and say that’s derogatory, that’s a racial slur,” he said. “But all the rest – they’re an affirmation of the honor and strength and courage and the warrior spirit of native people.”
Since that time, the Cleveland Indians announced they would rename to become the Cleveland Guardians in 2022. The Redskins also renounced their name but a new one is still to be determined.