Over 3,600 fans have signed an online petition in support of the Tomahawk Chop chantGETTY IMAGES
The Braves organization "hasn't distanced itself far" from the Tomahawk Chop chant and its symbolism in the wake of criticism from Cardinals P Ryan Helsley on the team's use of it, according to Jacob Bogage of the WASHINGTON POST. The Braves "used the slogan 'ChopOn' throughout the season and postseason," while the team "sells merchandise with pictograph instructions on how to join the cheer." As of Thursday afternoon, "more than 3,600 users had signed an online petition in support of the chop and chant." The Braves did "not distribute foam tomahawks before Wednesday's deciding Game 5 against the Cardinals, though the club still played the music associated with the cheer" (WASHINGTON POST, 10/11). ESPN's Bomani Jones said of the Braves' response to Helsley's comments, "They know they're wrong. ... They're like, 'We're not going to do this while he's in the game.' As if he can't hear it while he's not in the game, as if he is the only Cherokee or Native American that has any access to this product. You have millions and millions of people who watch these games, many of whom are of Native-American ancestry." Jones referenced the tomahawk chop and the Indians' Chief Wahoo logo and said, "Major League Baseball has said white people will be the ones who dictate the terms of engagement on a matter of racism. We will give in as much as we feel like it. If we don't feel like sacrificing our own entertainment, then you guys are just going to have to deal with it" ("High Noon," ESPN, 10/10).
IT'S TIME: In Atlanta, Bill Torpy writes the chop was "fun and fresh" when it was introduced at Braves games in '91, but it has become "tired and trite." It is "not so much that it's terribly politically incorrect," it just "makes us look like rubes" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 10/11).
