The Braves could rebrand the "Chop House" restaurant and the "Tomahawk Team" spirit groupgetty images
The Braves do "not intend to change their name, though discussions about the team’s use of the 'Tomahawk Chop' are ongoing," according to sources cited by Ken Rosenthal of THE ATHLETIC. The Braves in a statement said that they have "held meetings with their Native American Working Group, which will collaborate with the team on 'cultural issues, education and community outreach to amplify their voices and show our fans they are still proudly here.'" The statement concluded the team is "ready to meet the challenge of these times." Rosenthal noted reviewing the name "would be one way to meet that challenge, but the Braves, whose jerseys include the depiction of a tomahawk, evidently do not view it as a significant issue." They also "do not appear to be facing the type of corporate pressure from Truist, the bank that holds the naming rights to their ballpark, as the Redskins did from FedEx." The "'Chop' became a renewed subject of discussion" during the '19 Division Series between the Braves and Cardinals. The team "could remove their endorsement of the practice by no longer prompting it with music over their public-address system." They also "could rebrand the 'Chop House' restaurant in their ballpark and 'Tomahawk Team' spirit group." A move away from the "'Chop' would be not unlike the step the Braves took when they abandoned 'Chief Noc-A-Homa,' their original mascot in Milwaukee and Atlanta, in 1985" (THEATHLETIC.com, 7/7).
