Guardians president responded to Trump's random tirade about name change
And, well, you'd probably be right.
But that didn't stop the 47th U.S. President from going on an arbitrary (and pretty nonsensical, with all things considered) diatribe about how American sports teams like the Washington Commanders and Cleveland Guardians should revert back to their old, decidedly racist nicknames. Somewhere along the way, Trump invented the concept of an "original six" in baseball out of thin air (which doesn't exist and is actually an NHL concept) to invoke the Guardians, for which an "original six" label wouldn't even apply.
Again, it seems like Trump may be brazenly trying to drum up some sort of cannon fodder grievance to distract from other, more pressing issues. I mean, I'm just saying that I wouldn't rule it out, is all.
Shortly after Trump's Sunday morning shot in the dark, er, I mean, testimonial, Guardians president Chris Antonetti responded to his reference about the franchise's name. In short, Antonetti politely declined, citing an "opportunity to build the [Guardians'] brand" while being "excited" for the future.
You know what the amusing kicker is here?
It would take years for the Guardians, or anyone in a similar position, to go back and earnestly rebrand. It's not as if it's some overnight, effortless operation that can be done on someone's whim.
How long have the Cleveland Guardians had their current nickname?
After years of backlash, in late 2020, the Guardians revealed they would drop their old "Indians" nickname after the conclusion of the 2021 season. They have been the Guardians ever since. It was the eighth official name change in franchise history for an organization that officially started as the Columbus Buckeyes/Senators in 1896. It was the fifth name change since they started calling Cleveland home in 1900.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Guardians president politely declines Donald Trump's demand for name change
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
4 minutes ago
- The Hill
Europeans and Iran meet in Istanbul as the return of sanctions looms over nuclear deadlock
ISTANBUL (AP) — Iranian and European diplomats are set to meet in Istanbul Friday to embark on the latest drive to unpick the deadlock over Tehran's nuclear program. Representatives from Britain, France and Germany, known as the E3 nations, will gather at the Iranian consulate building for the first talks since Iran's 12-day war with Israel in June, which involved U.S. bombers striking nuclear-related facilities. The talks are centered on the possibility of reimposing sanctions on Iran that were lifted in 2015 in exchange for Iran accepting restrictions and monitoring of its nuclear program. The return of sanctions, known as a 'snapback' mechanism, 'remains on the table,' according to a European diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks. 'A possible delay in triggering snapback has been floated to the Iranians on the condition that there is credible diplomatic engagement by Iran, that they resume full cooperation with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), and that they address concerns about their highly-enriched uranium stockpile,' the diplomat said. European leaders have said sanctions will resume by the end of August if there is no progress on containing Iran's nuclear program. Tehran, meanwhile, has said the U.S., which withdrew from the 2015 deal during President Donald Trump 's first term, needs to rebuild faith in its role in negotiations. Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Iran's engagement was dependent on 'several key principles' that included 'rebuilding Iran's trust – as Iran has absolutely no trust in the United States.' In a social media post Thursday, he also said the talks shouldn't be used 'as a platform for hidden agendas such as military action.' Gharibabadi insisted that Iran's right to enrich uranium 'in line with its legitimate needs' be respected and sanctions removed. Iran has repeatedly threatened to leave the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which commits it to refrain from developing nuclear weapons, if sanctions return. Friday's talks will be held at the deputy ministerial level, with Iran sending Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-e Ravanchi. A similar meeting was held in Istanbul in May. The identity of the E3 representatives were not immediately clear but the European Union's deputy foreign policy commissioner is expected to attend. The U.K., France and Germany were signatories to the 2015 deal, alongside the U.S., Russia and China. When the U.S. withdrew in 2018, Trump insisted the agreement wasn't tough enough. Under the original deal, neither Russia nor China can veto reimposed sanctions. Since the Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran, which saw American B-52 bombers hit three nuclear sites, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has accused the E3 of hypocrisy, saying they failed to uphold their obligations while supporting Israel's attacks. Against the backdrop of the conflict, which saw Iran respond with missile attacks on Israel and a strike on a U.S. base in Qatar, the road ahead remains uncertain While European officials have said they want to avoid further conflict and are open to a negotiated solution, they have warned that time is running out. Tehran maintains it is open to diplomacy, though it recently suspended cooperation with the IAEA. A central concern for Western powers was highlighted when the IAEA reported in May that Iran's stockpile of uranium enriched to 60% – just below weapons-grade level – had grown to over 400 kilograms (882 pounds). In an interview with Al Jazeera that aired Wednesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran is prepared for another war and reiterated that its nuclear program will continue within the framework of international law while adding the country had no intention of pursuing nuclear weapons. A spokesman for Iran's Atomic Energy Organization said Thursday the country's nuclear industry would 'grow back and thrive again' after the recent attacks by Israel and the U.S.
CNN
26 minutes ago
- CNN
Trump releases long-awaited executive order on college athletics. It's not the quick fix the White House promised
President Donald Trump on Thursday signed a long-anticipated executive order on college sports, an attempt to provide federal guidance to the wild world of big money that has transformed collegiate athletics in recent years. The executive order signed by Trump said it is executive branch policy 'that third-party, pay-for-play payments to collegiate athletes are improper and should not be permitted by universities,' while it specifically allowing endorsement deals. It did not lay out a specific enforcement mechanism. But those expecting the administration to suddenly provide the guardrails and rules that have been sorely lacking in college sports in recent years will likely come away disappointed. The order aims to preserve and expand college sports, citing their unique place in American culture and how vital they are to American success in the Olympics. But it appears to fall short of what some in athletic departments around the country would have hoped: Clear federal guidance that would put an end to the chaos wrought by the name, image and likeness (NIL) deals that were deemed acceptable by the Supreme Court and the rampant transfers that have shaken college sports. 'It is the policy of my Administration that all college sports should be preserved and, where possible, expanded,' reads the order. 'My Administration will therefore provide the stability, fairness, and balance necessary to protect student-athletes, collegiate athletic scholarships and opportunities, and the special American institution of college sports. It is common sense that college sports are not, and should not be, professional sports, and my Administration will take action accordingly.' While the White House's fact sheet stated the executive order 'saves college sports,' the language itself does not implement any immediate changes. The order posits that athletic departments with more than $125 million in revenue during the last athletic season should provide more scholarship opportunities than in 2024-25 in non-revenue sports (sports that do not turn a profit and are typically subsidized with money earned from football and basketball) and provide the maximum number of roster spots permitted. Departments with more than $50 million in revenue during last year's athletic season should provide at least as many roster spots as last year and the maximum under the rules. Departments that made less than $50 million should not shrink scholarship opportunities or roster spots in non-revenue generating sports. The order also states that any revenue sharing agreement worked out between athletes and schools should be done in a way that 'preserves or expands scholarships and collegiate athletic opportunities in women's and non-revenue sports.' While the order also states that third-party, play-for-play payments to athletes should not be permitted, it notes that policy doesn't apply to payments that an athlete receives at a fair-market value from a separate party, such as a brand endorsement, according to the order. The NCAA already modified rules to address some of the points spelled out in the order. On the third-party payments, the NCAA's Division I Board of Directors in April moved to create oversight of all NIL deals over $600 and rules around what to do if a NIL deal is 'determined not to have been made with the purpose of using a student-athlete's NIL to advance a valid business purpose and/or is determined to have been made outside a reasonable range of compensation.' NCAA president Charlie Baker said in a statement that the organization appreciates Trump's order but Congress has to be the one that makes the most important changes. 'The NCAA is making positive changes for student-athletes and confronting many challenges facing college sports by mandating health and wellness benefits and guaranteeing scholarships, but there are some threats to college sports that federal legislation can effectively address and the Association is advocating with student-athletes and their schools for a bipartisan solution with Congress and the Administration,' Baker's statement reads. 'The Association appreciates the Trump Administration's focus on the life-changing opportunities college sports provides millions of young people and we look forward to working with student-athletes, a bipartisan coalition in Congress and the Trump Administration to enhance college sports for years to come.' While the order sets out the administration's policies, it does not have any enforcement mechanism. It also uses the word 'should' 10 times – binding federal laws and executive orders with enforcement mechanisms typically use the word 'shall.' Republican Reps. Brett Guthrie of Kentucky, Tim Walberg of Michigan and Jim Jordan of Ohio – the chairs of the Energy and Commerce committee, Education and Workforce committee and Judiciary Committee respectively – thanked Trump for the order but urged their colleagues to pass a law enshinring changes. 'We thank President Trump for his commitment to supporting student-athletes and strengthening college athletics in the NIL era. The SCORE Act, led by our three committees, will complement the President's executive order, and we look forward to working with all of our colleagues in Congress to build a stronger and more durable college sports environment,' the statement read. Where the text does lay out specific orders, it calls on administration officials to develop plans for implementation. Within 30 days, Education Secretary Linda McMahon – in consultation with Attorney General Pam Bondi, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson – 'shall develop a plan to advance the policies' set forth in the order 'through all available and appropriate regulatory, enforcement, and litigation mechanisms.' Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer and the National Labor Relations Board are ordered to 'determine and implement the appropriate measures with respect to clarifying the status of collegiate athletes, including through guidance, rules, or other appropriate actions, that will maximize the educational benefits and opportunities provided by higher education institutions through athletics.' The order also directs Bondi and Ferguson to work on a report within 60 days on how best to protect college athletics from antitrust lawsuits.
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
A man is halted climbing the US-Mexico border wall. Under new Trump rules, US troops sound the alarm
NOGALES, Ariz. (AP) — Inside an armored vehicle, an Army scout uses a joystick to direct a long-range optical scope toward a man perched atop the U.S.-Mexico border wall cutting across the hills of this Arizona frontier community. The man lowers himself toward U.S. soil between coils of concertina wire. Shouts ring out, an alert is sounded and a U.S. Border Patrol SUV races toward the wall — warning enough to send the man scrambling back over it, disappearing into Mexico. The sighting Tuesday was one of only two for the Army infantry unit patrolling this sector of the southern border, where an emergency declaration by President Donald Trump has thrust the military into a central role in deterring migrant crossings between U.S. ports of entry. 'Deterrence is actually boring,' said 24-year-old Army Sgt. Ana Harker-Molina, voicing the tedium felt by some fellow soldiers over the sporadic sightings. Still, she said she takes pride in the work, knowing that troops discourage crossings by their mere presence. 'Just if we're sitting here watching the border, it's helping our country,' said Harker-Molina, an immigrant herself who came from Panama at age 12 and became a U.S. citizen two years ago while serving in the Army. U.S. troop deployments at the border have tripled to 7,600 and include every branch of the military — even as the number of attempted illegal crossings plummet and Trump has authorized funding for an additional 3,000 Border Patrol agents, offering $10,000 signing and retention bonuses. The military mission is guided from a new command center at a remote Army intelligence training base alongside southern Arizona's Huachuca Mountains. There, a community hall has been transformed into a bustling war room of battalion commanders and staff with digital maps pinpointing military camps and movements along the nearly 2,000-mile border. Until now border enforcement had been the domain of civilian law enforcement, with the military only intermittently stepping in. But in April, large swaths of border were designated militarized zones, empowering U.S. troops to apprehend immigrants and others accused of trespassing on Army, Air Force or Navy bases, and authorizing additional criminal charges that can mean prison time. The two-star general leading the mission says troops are being untethered from maintenance and warehouse tasks to work closely with U.S. Border Patrol agents in high-traffic areas for illegal crossings — and to deploy rapidly to remote, unguarded terrain. 'We don't have a (labor) union, there's no limit on how many hours we can work in a day, how many shifts we can man," said Army Maj. Gen. Scott Naumann. 'I can put soldiers out whenever we need to in order to get after the problem and we can put them out for days at a time, we can fly people into incredibly remote areas now that we see the cartels shifting' course. Patrols aimed at stopping 'got-aways' At Nogales, Army scouts patrolled the border in full battle gear — helmet, M5 service rifle, bullet-resistant vest — with the right to use deadly force if attacked under standing military rules integrated into the border mission. Underfoot, smugglers for decades routinely attempted to tunnel into stormwater drains to ferry contraband into the U.S. Naumann's command post oversees an armada of 117 armored Stryker vehicles, more than 35 helicopters and a half-dozen long-distance drones that can survey the border day and night with sensors to pinpoint people wandering the desert. Marine Corps engineers are adding concertina wire to slow crossings, as the Trump administration reboots border wall construction. Naumann said the focus is on stopping 'got-aways' who evade authorities to disappear into the U.S. in a race against the clock that can last seconds in urban areas as people vanish into smuggling vehicles, or several days in the dense wetland thickets of the Rio Grande or the vast desert and mountainous wilderness of Arizona. Meanwhile, the rate of apprehensions at the border has fallen to a 60-year low. Naumann says the fall-off in illegal entries is the 'elephant in the room' as the military increases pressure and resources aimed at starving smuggling cartels — including Latin American gangs recently designated as foreign terrorist organizations. He says it would be wrong to let up, though, and that crossings may rebound with the end of scorching summer weather. 'We've got to keep going after it, we're having some successes, we are trending positively,' he said of the mission with no fixed end-date. Militarized zones are 'a gray area' The Trump administration is using the military broadly to boost its immigration operations, from guarding federal buildings in Los Angeles against protests over ICE detentions, to assisting Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Florida to plans to hold detained immigrants on military bases in New Jersey, Indiana and Texas. 'It's all part of the same strategy that is a very muscular, robust, intimidating, aggressive response to this — to show his base that he was serious about a campaign promise to fix immigration,' said Dan Maurer, a law professor at Ohio Northern University and a retired U.S. Army judge advocate officer. 'It's both norm-breaking and unusual. It puts the military in a very awkward position.' The militarized zones at the border sidestep the Posse Comitatus Act, an 1878 law that prohibits the military from conducting civilian law enforcement on U.S. soil. 'It's in that gray area, it may be a violation — it may not be. The military's always had the authority to arrest people and detain them on military bases," said Joshua Kastenberg, a professor at the University of New Mexico School of Law and a former Air Force judge. Michael Fisher, a security consultant and former chief of the Border Patrol from 2010-2016, calls the military expansion at the border a 'force multiplier' as Border Patrol agents increasingly turn up far from the border. "The military allows Border Patrol to be able to flex into other areas where they typically would not be able to do so,' he said. The strategy carries inherent moral challenges and political risks. In 1997, an 18-year-old U.S. citizen was shot to death while herding goats by a Marine Corps unit on a border anti-drug patrol in the remote Big Bend Region of western Texas. Authorities say Esequiel Hernandez had no connection to the drug trade and was an honor student. The shooting stoked anger along the border and prompted an end to then-President Bill Clinton's military deployment to the border. In New Mexico, the latest restrictions barring access to militarized zones have made popular areas for hunting, hiking and offroad motorsports off-limits for recreation, leading to an outcry from some residents. Naumann said adults can apply for access online, and by agreeing to undergo a criminal background check that he calls a standard requirement for access to military bases. 'We're not out to stop Americans from recreating in America. That's not what this is about,' he said. Military-grade equipment At daybreak Wednesday, Border Patrol vehicles climbed the largely unfenced slopes of Mt. Cristo Rey, an iconic peak topped by a crucifix that juts into the sky above the urban outskirts of El Paso and Mexico's Ciudad Juárez — without another soul in sight. The peak is at the conflux of two new militarized zones designated as extensions of Army stations at Fort Bliss in Texas and Fort Huachuca in Arizona. The Defense Department has added an additional 250-mile (400-kilometer) zone in Texas' Rio Grande Valley linked to an Air Force base. The Navy will oversee the border near Yuma, Arizona, where the Department of Interior on Wednesday ceded a 32-mile (50-kilometer) portion of the border to the military. At Mt. Cristo Rey, the Homeland Security Department has issued plans to close a 1.3-mile (2-kilometer) gap in the border wall over the objections of a Roman Catholic diocese that owns much of the land and says a wall would obstruct a sacred refuge for religious pilgrimages. From a nearby mesa top, Army Spc. Luisangel Nito scanned the valley below Mt. Cristo Rey with an infrared scope that highlights body heat, spotting three people as they crossed illegally into the U.S. for the Border Patrol to apprehend. Nito's unit also has equipment that can ground small drones used by smugglers to plot entry routes. Nito is the U.S.-born son of Mexican immigrants who entered the country in the 1990s through the same valleys he now patrols. 'They crossed right here," he said. 'They told me to just be careful because back when they crossed they said it was dangerous.' Nito's parents returned to Mexico in 2008 amid the financial crisis, but the soldier saw brighter opportunities in the U.S., returned and enlisted. He expressed no reservations about his role in detaining illegal immigrants. 'Obviously it's a job, right, and then I signed up for it and I'm going to do it," he said. At Mt. Cristo Rey and elsewhere, troops utilize marked Border Patrol vehicles as Naumann champions the 'integration' of civilian law enforcement and military forces. 'If there's a kind of a secret sauce, if you will, it's integrating at every echelon,' Neumann said. Solve the daily Crossword
