Posts Tagged ‘Cleveland Indians’
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When I lived in Phoenix, Arizona, I did some volunteer work with Pima Indian cross country runners. They were very nice young men but they told me about some of their experiences in the public school system where they were prejudged by their teacher who insisted on the first day of school, without even knowing them, that each would have to sign an agreement assuring her they would not be disruptive in class. Where did she get the idea they might be disruptive? It was a belief she developed over the years by observing negative images our society has created of Native Americans. Such as the Cleveland Indians’ Chief Wahoo logo. I wonder how many Americans, many of whom are fine Christians, would feel if there existed the “Jersey Jesuses” or the “Jacksonville Jesuses” and show a cartoon of Jesus on their caps and jerseys. I doubt they would look the other way and not give the idea much attention. You would see an explosion in the media about what a horrible thing it was to use the Jesus image to promote a sports team. Perhaps those same Christians (and Jews) should stand up and complain now about the Native American image that is being promoted in America.
JUNE 27, 2012: When DeWayne Wise, New York Yankees outfielder, didn’t catch a foul ball hit by Cleveland Indians’ Jack Hanahan, but acted like he had, and since umpire Mike DiMuro did not have a clear view of the play and ruled that he had caught the ball even though he hadn’t, Wise smiled sheepishly and headed to the dugout and the inning was over. When athletes lie, they are affecting their own self-esteem, which, in turn, negatively affects their performance. Later Wise said he didn’t want to “show up the umpire” which is a lame excuse. According to USA Today, writer Jorge L. Ortiz wrote that “DeWayne Wise did not make the catch, but he made the smart baseball play.” Ortiz was wrong. There’s never anything smart about lying and not telling the truth. If DeWayne had informed the umpire that he didn’t catch the ball and that Hanahan wasn’t out, just think of what a hero he would have become to parents and kids. But he didn’t. And if it’s any indication of how he’s going through life, it’s no small wonder he’s been traded by so many teams since arriving in the majors.
