Georgia Republican Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue released a joint statement Monday declaring their opposition to renaming the state’s Major League Baseball team, the Atlanta Braves.
“Not only are the Braves a Georgia institution — with a history spanning 54 years in Atlanta — they’re an American institution,” the statement said. “The Braves’ name honors our nation’s Native American heritage, which should not be erased — and under no circumstances should one of the most celebrated teams in sports cave to the demands of the cancel culture and the radical left.”
Statement from @Perduesenate and me on our steadfast opposition to renaming the Atlanta @Braves. #gapol #gasen pic.twitter.com/L3axKziBri
— Kelly Loeffler (@KLoeffler) December 14, 2020
Just a day before the statement, the MLB’s Cleveland Indians announced it will be changing its 105-year-old name to “better unify our community and build our legacy for a new generation.” This follows the National Football League’s Washington Redskins name change to “Washington Football Team” earlier in the year over concerns of political correctness.
While Democrat Senate candidates Jon Osoff and Raphael Warnock have yet to respond to the name change controversy, a new poll by the Trafalgar group of Georgia voters shows that Perdue and Loeffler’s stance was very strategic and resonated with many Georgia voters, including those on the other side of the aisle.
Just under 20 percent of Georgia voters surveyed said they believed the professional baseball team needs to change its name, and more than 70 percent of voters said the name should be kept. Less than 9 percent of voters surveyed said they had no opinion about the issue.
When broken down by preferred candidates, almost 90 percent of Perdue and Loeffler’s supporters opposed changing the team’s name. Over half of both Ossoff and Warnock voters opposed a change.
The Braves have previously committed to keeping the team’s name, but have taken strides to ensure that the team “honors, supports, and values the Native American community.” This includes ending the “tomahawk chop” at games and releasing a t-shirt design with Cherokee written language to benefit the new Kituwah Academy and Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Speakers Council.
“Jon Ossoff and Radical Raphael Warnock should tell Georgians where they stand on renaming the Atlanta Braves; they either think the Braves should be renamed or they don’t,” said Georgia GOP Spokesman Abigail Sigler. “If Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock can’t answer a simple question about a baseball team, they certainly can’t answer tough questions.”
