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Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves, Washington Redskins all lose on Indigenous Peoples Day

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Cleveland Indians’ Jason Kipnis, left, is hugged by starting pitcher Mike Clevinger after the Houston Astros defeated the Indians 11-3 in Game 3 of a baseball American League Division Series, Monday, Oct. 8, 2018, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Phil Long)
Cleveland Indians’ Jason Kipnis, left, is hugged by starting pitcher Mike Clevinger after the Houston Astros defeated the Indians 11-3 in Game 3 of a baseball American League Division Series, Monday, Oct. 8, 2018, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Phil Long)

On a busy sports day, there was one clear loser: any team with an offensive mascot.

Monday was officially Columbus Day, but its less renowned counterpart – Indigenous Peoples Day – came out the real winner.

Indigenous Peoples Day has been gaining traction in recent years with many cities choosing to celebrate the holiday in lieu of Columbus Day due to accounts of Christopher Columbus’ role in the genocide of Native Americans.

The new celebration wants to honor and highlight the native communities that have always been in North America and suffered under Columbus.

On Monday, three teams with mascots or traditions that mock Native Americans – the Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves and Washington Redskins – all lost their games today with the two MLB teams being eliminated from the postseason.

See ya, Indians

The Indians started the day’s losing streak off by getting swept by the Houston Astros. It was a must-win game for them and they did anything but.

They had a 2-1 lead in the sixth and ended up losing 11-3. Not everyone was upset about Cleveland’s season-ending loss though — remember they’re a team whose mascot is an Indian caricature.

The irony did not escape most people today.

Monday’s game was the last we’ll see of the Chief Wahoo logo. Earlier this year the MLB deemed it “no longer appropriate,” and Cleveland had already been phasing it out in favor of their block C.

Luckily, they brought out the Wahoo logo this postseason in time to get swept!

Bye, bye Braves

The Braves’ Tomahawk chop is not getting phased out just yet. The team fared slightly better than the Indians, though losing by four instead of eight. But unfortunately for them, more tomahawk cheers do not mean more runs scored.

Still, some were just happy that they lost. Fans had been rooting for the Dodgers to win purely because of the insensitive cheer.

The Dodgers came through for those fans with a 6-2 win to take the series 3-1. What a way to kick off Indigenous Peoples Day in L.A., which voted to replace Columbus Day last year.

Even when some pointed out how denigrating and insensitive the cheer is, it didn’t stop fans from rallying to support their team.

The combination of the Braves and Indians losing was enough to make even seasoned sportswriters celebrate.

Washed out Redskins

To round out the trifecta of losers on Indigenous Peoples Day, one of the NFL’s most controversial teams went down on Monday to history-making Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints.

The Redskins weren’t in the headlines for their mistreatment of cheerleaders this time – although that story hasn’t gone away either.

They’re back for their team name — one that their fans somehow don’t even realize is racist.

You’d think that if a 7-year-old realized the hypocrisy of it, adults would too. Alas, that’s probably asking too much of them.

So to recap – karma was hard at work on Indigenous Peoples Day. Maybe the teams will reconsider changing their names and traditions for next year.

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