Anyone following the ALCS via the radio broadcast of Toronto Blue Jays play-by-play man Jerry Howarth will not hear him refer to the Cleveland Indians as the “Indians.”
Howarth’s refusal to use the team’s name is nothing new. In fact, it stems from the days following the 1992 World Series, when the Blue Jays defeated the Atlanta Braves.
Following the series, Howarth received a letter that he received from a Native American. The letter asked Howarth to “think about what he’s saying” when using names of teams like the Braves, Indians, and Washington Redskins.
“I wrote him back and I said ‘Sir, that’s one of the best fan letters I’ve ever received,'” Horwarth said in an interview on the Jeff Blair Show. “In honor of what your thoughts are, and the thoughts of so many others on reservations, for the rest of my career, I will not say Indians or Braves. If I were in the NFL I wouldn’t say Redskins.’ And I haven’t from that point on.”
It’s difficult to be even remotely critical of Howarth’s stance.
First of all, we certainly can’t accuse Howarth of jumping on any P.C. bandwagon here. Of course, this isn’t a new issue. But it’s been most prevalent over the last five years. While there were certainly some editorials were being done, this wasn’t a big issue in the mainstream media back in 1992.
There are plenty of people (present company included) who will describe a team by its name. Should the Indians ever change their name, I personally won’t refer to them as the Indians anymore. The same goes for the Braves, Redskins, Kansas City Chiefs, or any other team. Until that day comes, though, they’ll be treated like any other team.
That’s just a stylistic preference, though. Certainly, those who go another route are not in the wrong. Nobody should be expected to use uncomfortable phrases, especially when referring to an opposing team.
Now, if Howarth were an announcer for the Indians, he’d get far less sympathy. If you’re willing to call every game for a team (and collect a paycheck from it), you should call the team by its name.
But that’s not the case here.
Howarth calls games for Toronto. The Blue Jays sign his checks. He’ll call Cleveland games six or seven times in a normal year. This year, he’ll call four-to-seven more.
If he’s uncomfortable calling him the Indians during those broadcasts, it’s entirely reasonable for Howarth to just stick to “Cleveland,” or to use some other identifier. His stance is well ahead of the curve on this particular issue.