| While other professional sports franchises have backed away from Native American imagery, the Atlanta Braves have retrenched. In late innings and key moments, fans yell a faux war chant and swing their arms in a ritual known as the "tomahawk chop." At Truist Park, which opened in 2017, a giant neon tomahawk beyond the center field fence slashes along with the crowd. With the World Series spotlight on the franchise for the first time since 1999, the Braves are viewed by advocates as a holdout amid an overdue cultural shift, clinging to a name that offends and dehumanizes a minority group out of deference to fan loyalty and branding. |
| | | | Sports Alert | Oct. 29, 2:23 p.m. EDT | | | | | While other professional sports franchises have backed away from Native American imagery, the Atlanta Braves have retrenched. In late innings and key moments, fans yell a faux war chant and swing their arms in a ritual known as the "tomahawk chop." At Truist Park, which opened in 2017, a giant neon tomahawk beyond the center field fence slashes along with the crowd. With the World Series spotlight on the franchise for the first time since 1999, the Braves are viewed by advocates as a holdout amid an overdue cultural shift, clinging to a name that offends and dehumanizes a minority group out of deference to fan loyalty and branding. | | | | | |
