'Tone-Deaf' on Commanders? Baseball Star with Native American Tie 'Shocked' at Change

The Washington Commanders have officially rebranded from what has been considered a racially insensitive monicker, shocking an MLB retiree.

Former St. Louis Cardinals player Jim Edmonds is a color analyst for Cardinals broadcasts on Bally Sports. In the thick of a game between St. Louis and the Houston Astros, he had something to say ... about Washington?

"I always thought it was kind of a cool thing, not a bad thing, to have a team named after the Indians or ... the Washington Redskins," Edmonds said on live television.

Unsurprisingly, this sparked immediate controversy on Twitter and other social media platforms, garnering passionate replies from all sides. 

"This is so tone-[deaf] they don't want to understand it's obvious," one respondent wrote. Another said, "I'm with Jim."

It is worth noting that Edmonds did take time to qualify his statements, clarifying why he felt compelled to share such an opinion.

"I’m still shocked that we’ve changed so much as a whole that [we’re] not allowed to have the Cleveland Indians any more (having changed to) the Guardians," he said. "And I’m saying that too because my wife is (part) Native American Indian. "

The Washington organization took dramatic steps to reverse the team's name and branding in 2020 after public sentiment agreed on the racially insensitive nature of the organization's name. 

Though Edmonds, maybe fueled by his family relationship, believes Washington's name should have stayed the same, along with other sports teams named after Native Americans.

"You know what’s really funny is when people reach out to you and say, ‘Hey I’m from this area, and we really love our baseball here.' And somebody else will say, ‘Yeah, I wish they had the old names that they used to have.’ It’s just funny to hear everyone’s opinion," he said.

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