Ex-Cleveland Manager Has Message For Fans ‘Like Trump’ Who Prefer Racist Name

Former Cleveland Guardians manager Terry Francona on Tuesday schooled “older fans,” such as President Donald Trump, who want the team to revert to its former name, “Indians.”

Trump stirred up controversy when he wrote that Cleveland should re-adopt the offensive name because “Indians are being treated very unfairly. MAKE INDIANS GREAT AGAIN (MIGA).”

Francona, who managed Cleveland from 2013 to 2023, was in the room during the name-change discussions. He is now the manager of the Cincinnati Reds. He looked back at Cleveland owner Paul Dolan’s decision to rebrand in 2021 as a courageous move.

“I was really proud of him, because I don’t think it was real popular with a segment of probably the older fans that kind of, I guess like Trump, ‘Why can’t it be like it used to be?’ ” Francona told USA Today.

“And I guess my retort would be, ‘There’s probably a lot of people in this country who don’t want it like it used to be.’ And if you’re white, (you’re) probably just fine.’

“That’s not how it’s supposed to work. Like, I didn’t even care what they made the name in Cleveland. I really didn’t. I just know how I was in on those conversations, and we were trying to be respectful. And for that, I gave those guys a lot of credit.”

Francona, who guided Cleveland to six playoff appearances and a World Series in 2016, continued his winning message to the newspaper.

“Not everybody’s gonna be happy,” he said.

“That’s never gonna be the case,” he added. “But I think as long as what you’re trying to do is respectful, you can go ahead and let people complain.”