PORTAGE COUNTY, Ohio (WJW) — Sheriff Bruce D. Zuchowski of the Portage County Sheriff’s Office says he felt compelled to speak out “on behalf of the silent majority” after the Cleveland Indians changed their name to the Guardians.
In a Facebook post, Sheriff Zuchowski says the team’s decision is weighing heavy on his mind with disappointment and hopelessness as he thinks back to roots of baseball – an American family tradition.
His wife, a descendent from the Cherokee and Blackfoot American Indian tribe, never viewed the Cleveland Indians as a biased or prejudiced team but rather their hometown baseball franchise, he says.
In the post he says that this is “once again another attempt of trying to erase our history due to the outcry of the few that affects the many.”
He ends his post by calling out both lawmakers and decision-makers to begin to think about the majority of their constituents before caving to the impulsive demands being made by a small group of the public.
Cleveland fans have mixed reactions to the name change, some saying they would’ve preferred that the team be renamed the Spiders, a throwback to the club’s name from the 1890s.
Donald J. Trump, 45th President of the US, said about the name change, in part: “Such a disgrace, and I guarantee that the people who are most angry about it are the many Indians of our Country.”
On the other hand, reportedly, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki says the White House certainly supports the new name for Cleveland’s baseball team.